Month: January 2021

by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Unselfish Cooper boys make coach Conover’s job easy

In the midst of his most successful season as the Cooper boys basketball coach, Bryan Conover is having some of the most fun he’s ever had coaching basketball.

And while it would be easy to attribute that to a 5-1 district record that has the Cougars in position to compete for their first district title since 1996, to do so would be to miss the bigger picture.

For Conover, it’s not so much the wins that have made this year’s Cooper squad such a joy to coach. It’s the work ethic, unselfishness and chemistry that have made those wins possible.

With six players averaging between 6.2 and 12.4 points per game for the season, this CHS team is about as balanced as any you’ll find in the area. And though many of those players could score more individually if they had a mind to, they’ve all bought into a team concept with an understanding that the more threats a team has, the harder it is to defend.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Late flurry lifts Abilene High boys to improbable win at OHS

ODESSA — Trailing Odessa High by four points with six seconds remaining Friday, it appeared the Abilene High boys basketball team was headed for its second consecutive loss and third in four games. But persistence, a creative coaching decision and a little good fortune paid dividends in an improbable 65-64 overtime win.

Down 64-60 in the extra period after the teams had closed regulation tied at 53, Abilene High (16-5 overall, 5-3 in District 2-6A) started the winning sequence by sending a baseball pass down the court for a quick layup to cut the deficit to two. Coach Justin Reese then had his team force an intentional delay of game call to reset its defense, and before the ensuing inbounds play, OHS called a timeout it didn’t have for a technical foul that sent Jalen McGee to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game.

McGee, who finished with a game-high 24 points, only made one of two, but with the technical came possession, and Nathan Watts hit a buzzer-beating layup off a long pass to lift the Eagles to the win.

https://twitter.com/ahseaglehoops/status/1355343023698284551

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Two fast starts for Wall, two Jim Ned rallies produce split doubleheader in Tuscola

TUSCOLA — A high-profile Friday doubleheader saw Jim Ned suffer two straight slow starts against Wall at Bill Thornton arena. The Jim Ned girls overcame theirs, topping their area rival 52-36. 

The boys weren’t so fortunate, falling to the Hawks 55-50, despite a frantic effort to erase an early deficit that had ballooned to 16 points by the second quarter.

On the girls side, Ashton Garner, Alexis Espinosa and Ashlynn Galvin dropped in 15, 14 and 13 points respectively to lift the 15th-ranked Lady Indians (21-2, 11-1). The win forces a first-place tie in District 6-3A with No. 14 Wall (20-3, 11-1), which suffered its first district loss of the year. 

Trailing 17-8 at the end of the first quarter and 21-13 with 4:46 left in the second, the Lady Indians closed the half on a 14-0 run and never relinquished the lead beyond that point. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie boys come up just short in loss to district co-leader Lubbock Cooper

Coming off back-to-back wins over Lubbock Monterey and Lubbock Coronado, the Wylie boys basketball team flirted with its first three-game winning streak of the season Friday at Bulldog Gym.

But leading District 4-5A co-leader Lubbock Cooper 49-48 with less than a minute remaining in a back-and-forth fourth quarter, the Bulldogs received one too many counter punches in a tough 52-49 loss.

Up by a point with about 40 seconds to play, It looked as though Wylie might pull off the upset when Colby Tanner stole a pass to force an apparent fouling situation for Cooper. But Pirates star Bryan Elliott stole the ball right back and turned the live-ball turnover into an uncontested layup for what proved to be the winning points.

After Elliott knocked down a pair of free throws for his 24th and 25th points with 5.2 seconds remaining in the game, Wylie had a chance to force overtime. But Dylan Jennings’ 3-pointer off a well designed and executed and inbounds play rimmed out, allowing Cooper to escape with the win.

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Versatile Edgar using old-school two-point jumpers to take up the slack at Cisco

Photos courtesy of Cisco High School

CISCO — Last year as a junior, Cisco guard Layne Edgar was a respectable player outside of the limelight — distributing the ball to a solid corps of shooters and acting as reliable third or fourth scoring option. 

But an unfortunate thing happened to Cisco on the way to the 2020-21 basketball season: Three of the Loboes’ top scorers — Dawson Hearne (knee injury), Steven Bird (illness) and Kason Conring (knee injury) — haven’t been able to contribute as expected.

This has forced coach Kevin Hearne to turn to Edgar as a surprising safety net. And thus far, the 18-year-old has set a blistering pace, averaging 22.7 points per game.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Wylie boys top Coronado for second straight win

Coming off a big road win over Lubbock Monterey last week, the Wylie boys basketball team had another strong performance Tuesday, beating Lubbock Coronado 56-50 at Bulldog Gym to improve to 3-2 in District 4-5A play.

The Bulldogs (7-9 overall) moved into a third-place tie with Monterey with the victory — just a game back of co-district leaders Cooper (13-5, 4-1) and Lubbock Cooper (10-6, 4-1).

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Cooper boys outlast Monterey in double OT for big district victory

Trailing Lubbock Monterey at the end of each of the first three quarters Tuesday, the Cooper boys basketball team rallied in the fourth to force overtime before outlasting the Plainsmen for a thrilling 67-66 victory in double overtime.

Facing a 30-25 deficit at halftime, the Cougars outscored the visitors 31-26 over the final two quarters — including 11-8 in the fourth — to score a big District 4-5A win.

Cooper and Monterey entered Tuesday night tied with Lubbock Cooper atop the district standings at 3-1, and the victory keeps the Coogs (13-5 overall) in control of their title hopes entering the second half of league play.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Coleman boys rally late to edge Colorado City; Lady Wolves roll to big win

COLEMAN — Clutch shooting gave the Coleman boys their first lead of the night with just over two minutes to play, and the Bluecats sealed the game at the free-throw line in a 42-38 come-from-behind win over Colorado City on Tuesday night in District 8-2A play.

Corbin Rosales had the go-ahead layup before a dagger 3-pointer by Braxton Smith gave the Bluecats an insurmountable lead as Coleman improved to 12-6 overall and 5-1 in district play, keeping pace with Winters atop the district standings.

Jalen Holloway finished with a game-high 13 points for Coleman, while Rosales and Smith each finished with 10. Mason Randle led the Wolves with nine points.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Abilene High boys can’t pull off upset in two OT loss to Frenship

The Abilene High boys basketball team pushed District 2-6A leader Wolfforth Frenship to the limit Tuesday, but the Eagles couldn’t quite get their upset bid to the finish line in a 66-62 double overtime loss at Eagle Gym.

AHS had the ball with a chance to win at the end of regulation and the first overtime period, but coach Justin Reese’s squad couldn’t get the bucket it needed to secure the win either time.

That allowed the Tigers to escape with a 13-9 run through the second OT period and forced the Eagles to settle for a hard-fought loss that dropped their overall record to 15-5 and their district mark to 4-3. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie guard quartet share this week’s honor

With four guards capable of leading them in scoring on a given night, the Wylie Lady Bulldogs are blessed with a diverse offensive attack. 

But that level of balance and unselfishness does come with one small downside. When it comes time to recognize those players for their accomplishments, it can be hard to differentiate between them and determine which is most deserving of being honored.

So this week, we abdicate that duty and honor all four — seniors Morgan Travis, Emma Melton and Makinlee Bacon and sophomore Caroline Steadman — as our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 23.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS 2020 MAX EFFORT TEAM: The hardest-working volleyball players in the Big Country

Our All-Big Country Preps Volleyball team, released today, is in place to honor those who achieved the most on-court success in 2020. It is off the court, however, where character, grit and work ethic are often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps Max Effort Team that we wish to honor those players who were the hardest-working, best teammates in the area this fall. 

This team isn’t about who the best volleyball players were.

The Max Effort team honors hustle, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches wish every player had.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Jim Ned sweeps Ballinger as boys rally for OT win

TUSCOLA — The Jim Ned boys basketball team didn’t take a lead on Ballinger until early in the fourth quarter on Friday night at Bill Thornton Arena, and then was forced into overtime, but came away with a key 51-47 win in District 6-3A action.

Kaden Davis led a trio of Indians in double-digits with 15 points, while Xavier Wishert and Ben Eshelman added 14 and 13, respectively.

Jonathan Delgado had a game-high 29 points for the Bearcats, who went 0-for-4 from the free-throw line in the game.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Wylie boys score key district win at Lubbock Monterey

LUBBOCK — Needing an upset win over District 4-5A co-leader Lubbock Monterey to avoid a 1-3 start to league play, the Wylie boys basketball team did exactly what it needed to Friday in a 53-42 win.

The Bulldogs, who were coming off a lopsided loss to crosstown rival Cooper, overcame a slow offensive start hand the Plainsmen (12-9, 3-1) their first district loss and stay within a game of Monterey, Cooper and Lubbock Cooper for the 4-5A lead.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Hot-shooting Wylie girls blast Lubbock Monterey 56-29

With Lubbock Monterey’s zone defense taking away the paint Friday, the Wylie girls basketball team took to the skies and found success from long distance, knocking down 12 3-pointers in a 56-29 win at Bulldog Gym.

The Lady Bulldogs, who edged the Lady Plainsmen 48-45 on Jan. 5 in Lubbock, had no had no such trouble with Monterey the second go-round, outscoring the visitors 32-12 in the second half to turn a seven-point game at halftime into a blowout.

Five of Wylie’s seven scorers hit at least one 3, led by sophomore Caroline Steadman, who made four of her five triples in the second half to finish with a team-high 15 points.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Abilene High boys bounce back with win at Midland Lee

MIDLAND — The Abilene High boys basketball team shook off Friday’s loss to Odessa Permian to get back in the win column Tuesday, beating Midland Lee 56-42 to improve to 15-4 on the season and 4-2 in District 2-6A play.

The Eagles got off to a slow start, falling behind 11-8 after the opening quarter, but bounced back to take a 24-20 lead by halftime. After adding three more points to its lead with an 11-8 run through the third period, AHS put the game away in the fourth, outpacing Lee 21-14 for the frame.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Garcia, big third quarter fuel Cooper boys past Wylie

Trailing Wylie 15-13 after a quarter on Tuesday, the Cooper boys basketball team outscored the Bulldogs 45-23 over the middle two periods to pull away for a 76-64 home win over its crosstown district rival.

The Cougars, who improved to 12-4 overall  with the win, built  a 37-30 lead by halftime before using a 21-8 run through the third quarter to push their lead to 20 by the start of the fourth.

Noah Garcia led the effort for the home team, dropping 26 points to keep his Cougars perfect in District 4-5A play at 3-0.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Sweetwater girls rally in fourth for win over Big Spring

SWEETWATER — Both the Sweetwater and Big Spring girls basketball teams went into Tuesday night’s game tied for fourth place in District 3-4A and looking to get a leg up on the other one to close out the first half of district play.

Jazzy Villa made a pair of free throws coming off a technical foul between the third and fourth quarters to put the Lady Mustangs ahead and Sweetwater used a dominant defensive effort in the closing minutes to pick up a 51-47 win at Mustang Gym.

Sisters Kenzi and Kya Mitchell had 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Villa added 10 as the Lady Mustangs improved to 9-12 this year and 2-3 in District 3-4A action.