Following a pair of road losses to Class 5A programs earlier in the week, the Brownwood Lions returned to the win column Saturday afternoon at Warren Gym with a 64-35 triumph over the Class 2A De Leon Bearcats.
“It doesn’t matter who you play, a win’s a win and that’s what these kids needed,” said Lions head coach Nadir Dalleh, who missed the last two games due to a case of pneumonia. “De Leon’s a good team, we just played really well today. Those kids that play for De Leon, they’re going to go pretty far in the playoffs like they did last year, and that’s why we set this up. We always try to play guys that are going to compete. We need competition and we’re seeing that and learning from it.”
Bryson Monroe and Christian Kinzler both finished in double figures for the Lions (5-6) with 16 and 14 points, respectively, followed by Jakob Hataway with nine, Michael Felts with seven, Zach Porter with six, Brandon Brashear with five, Bryan Healer with three, and Antonio Salinas and Nathan Wheelington with two points apiece.
For De Leon (3-5), Emery Amick led the charge with 10 points trailed by Trey Lopez with seven, Ryley McGinnis with six, Lane Powledge with five, Tyson Wofford with three and J.R. Kelley and Kadyn Bostic with two points each.
In each of the first three quarters, the Lions generated double-digit scoring runs to seize control of the contest.
Down 7-6 with 3:36 left in the first period, the Lions reeled off the next 11 points to open a double-digit advantage, 17-7, following a bucket by Brashear with 1:18 to go in the quarter.
The second period featured a string of 10 unanswered points that allowed the Lions to boost lead to 36-17, culminating on a three-pointer by Monroe with 1:58 remaining in the first half.
Leading 39-20 at the break, the Lions fired off 17 straight points after De Leon’s first bucket of the second half, extending their cushion to 58-22 with 45 seconds left in the third quarter.
“We looked a little flat at the start, but that’s from getting in at midnight and trying to play a noon game,” Dalleh said. “Once we hit a couple of shots you could see it pick up. Having Luke Moss come back today, just him being out there picks the guys up as well. It’s good to have him back.”
With a 58-24 lead through three quarters, Dalleh left the fourth quarter responsibilities to the Lion reserves.
“You never know who you’re going to have out on any given night with COVID, so it’s very important to get these guys some playing time,” Dalleh said. “I’m just getting back from pneumonia myself so it hasn’t been a fun week for me. But getting back with the guys has been fun, especially getting a win and seeing everybody on the floor. You don’t know who might get hit with something so you have to be ready.”
The Lions will play their final game before the Christmas break at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday as the Snyder Tigers visit in a contest that will take place at the Brownwood Coliseum.
