BROWNWOOD — For three full quarters, visiting Glen Rose held Brownwood in a defensive vice grip in Tuesday’s District 6-4A matchup. That is, until the Lions switched to full-court defensive pressure down the stretch to put a late scare into the Tigers.
Leading 32-14 after shutting Brownwood out in the third quarter, Glen Rose saw its lead cut to as little as six in the final minutes of a 43-34 win at BHS.
Caden Schinagel scored 12 points and Caden Smith dropped in 10 more to pace Glen Rose (23-2, 7-0), which locked up the district title with the win.
Jacob Hataway and Christian Kinzler led Brownwood (13-9, 4-3), which used a 20-11 run over the game’s final eight minutes to make things interesting.
“They do a great job of what they do and everything they do,” Brownwood coach Nadir Dalleh said of Glen Rose. “We had shots, but they weren’t falling and I was disappointed in that, but we’ve done that all year and bounced back. I was waiting for the bounce-back but it was just a little bit too late.”
At one point, Brownwood’s deficit had expanded to 20 points when Matt Hammonds sank a layup with 7:45 left in the game for a 34-14 Glen Rose lead. But from that point forward, the floor belonged to the Lions. A 14-4 run over the next 2:19 brought the crowd back into it, with Bryson Monroe and Hataway both canning shots from beyond the arc.
The next 4:45 saw Brownwood’s momentum continue, with Luke Moss hitting three key free throws down the stretch to cut the Tigers’ lead to 41-35 with 0:26 to play.
Unfortunately for the Lions, they would not find the range again. And by the time Hammonds hit two free throws with 0:06 to play, the game was out of reach.
“I was really shocked, because they’ve got some really good guards,” said Dalleh of his full-court press bothering Glen Rose. “I was really worried about our pressure on them because if it wasn’t enough, they would just break it.
“They had a few wide-open layups. But I was shocked. We kept getting deflections and got a couple of steals and that opened us up and gave us a little bit
of confidence.”
With the loss, Brownwood falls into a second-place tie with Lampasas (18-4, 4-3). The Lions will travel to face the Badgers on Friday with the No. 2 seed at stake.
Glen Rose will host Stephenville (15-8, 3-4) on the same evening.
“I was proud of our guys in the fourth quarter, because those first three quarters might be the ugliest we’ve played all year,” Dalleh said. “And that’s no exaggeration whatsoever.
“I mean, 14 points in our own gym (through three quarters)? That’s tough to overcome.
“But I’m not taking anything away from Glen Rose. They’re a great team and Coach (Jake) Bell does a great job with them. There’s a reason why they’re district champs. I’m just proud that our kids fought back in the fourth quarter and made it a game.”
DISTRICT 6-4A
GLEN ROSE 43, BROWNWOOD 34
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | ||
| Glen Rose | 13 | 10 | 9 | 11 | — | 43 |
| Brownwood | 7 | 7 | 0 | 20 | — | 34 |
Glen Rose (23-2, 7-0) — Matt Hammonds 1 2-2 4, Kolton Mooney 2 2-3 8, Austin Worthen 1 1-1 3, Cross Arrington 1 0-0 3, Caden Smith 5 0-0 10, Kanyon Keese 1 1-3 3, Caden Schinagel 4 3-3 12. Totals 14 9-12 43.
Brownwood (13-9, 4-3) — Bryson Monroe 3 0-0 8, Zach Porter 0 1-2 1, Jakob Hataway 4 1-1 11, Christian Kinzler 4 2-5 10, Luke Moss 0 3-6 3, Mike Felts 1 0-0 2, Totals 11 7-14 34.
3-Point Goals — Glen Rose 4 (Kolton Mooney 2, Schinagel, Arrington); Brownwood 4 (Monroe 2, Hataway 2). Fouled Out — Hataway. Technical Fouls — None. Total Fouls — Glen Rose13; Brownwood 15.