Jakob Hataway (11), pictured against Lampasas, scored a team-high 17 points in Brownwood’s win at Gatesville Friday. [File photo by Derrick Stuckly]GATESVILLE – Trailing by six points at halftime, the Brownwood Lions stormed back to clinch a playoff berth with a 67-50 victory over the Gatesville Hornets Friday – the 100
th win in five seasons at Brownwood for head coach Nadir Dalleh.
The Lions (12-8, 3-2) remained in a tie for second place in the District 6-4A standings along with Lampasas (17-3, 3-2) – a 40-34 winner over Stephenville (14-7, 2-3) Friday – with three league games left on the schedule.
Brownwood trailed 15-12 after one quarter and 26-20 at halftime, but grabbed a 40-35 lead through three quarters and tacked on 27 more points in the fourth period.
The Brownwood Lions wrapped up the first half of District 6-4A boys basketball action Tuesday night at Warren Gym with a crucial victory – a 69-56 upset of the No. 25 Lampasas Badgers.
“You have to protect your home court in this district and that’s a big win for us,” said Lions fifth-year head coach Nadir Dalleh.
Following Tuesday’s results, Brownwood (11-8, 2-2), Lampasas (16-3, 2-2) and Stephenville (14-6, 2-2) currently share second place behind 6-4A front runner and 21st-ranked Glen Rose (20-2, 4-0), which toppled Stephenville, 56-34, in the league’s other game.
The Lions were able to overcome 22 turnovers and a 20 of 42 shooting performance from the free throw line as Bryson Monroe led the Lions with 20 points followed by 19 from Christian Kinzler, 11 from Jakob Hataway, nine from Zach Porter, six from Michael Felts and two points apiece from Nathan Wheelington and Luke Moss.
The Brownwood Lions’ six-game win streak concluded, and their path to a third straight district championship became much more difficult with a 56-43 road loss to the Stephenville Yellow Jackets in Tuesday night’s 6-4A clash.
The Lions (10-7, 1-1) surrendered the first 10 points of the game and faced an 18-10 deficit after one quarter. After pulling within a point, 31-30, at halftime, Brownwood drew even at 31 only for Stephenville (14-5, 2-1) to finish with 11 of the final 13 points in the third quarter. Down 41-33 after three frames, the Lions were unable to piece together another rally.
Christian Kinzler finished with 16 points followed by Jakob Hataway with 12, Nathan Wheelington, Zach Porter and Michael Felts with four points apiece and Luke Moss tacked on three points.
The Brownwood Lions chalked up their third win in a row, improved to 6-0 in games played in Brownwood, and moved over the .500 mark for the first time with a 57-46 victory over the Class 5A Wichita Falls Rider Raiders Tuesday at the Brownwood Coliseum.
“We played a lot better than we looked in practice yesterday, that’s for sure,” said Lions fifth-year head coach Nadir Dalleh who returned to the sidelines after being hospitalized last week with pneumonia. “Having five days off, that’s a good win against a good 5A team. We came in and shot the ball well to start with and we made smart plays. That’s the stuff we have to do in a couple of weeks when we start district.”