The Brownwood Lions trailed by 13 points in the second quarter and led by 13 points in the third period, but a 17-1 surge by the Snyder Tigers during the final three minutes Tuesday afternoon at Warren Gym resulted in a 76-69 loss for the maroon and white – the third in a row for second-year head coach Will Parker’s squad.
“We’re still trying to get guys in rhythm,” Parker said. “We’re playing a lot of guys and I’m not used to playing 10 or more guys in a game. We have guys that are playing some really good minutes and then they make some big mistakes, so we’re trying to figure out the right guys to keep out there and it’s very difficult right now.”
Tristan Salinas led the Lions (8-6) with 25 points followed by 24 from Luke Gray, but Brownwood is still seeking other consistent scorers to go along with the duo. Sam Bruton chipped in six points trailed by Caleb Clawson with five, Morsello Hooker with four, Hayden Proffitt with three, and Hayden Noe and Gage Sparks with one point apiece.
For Snyder (4-10), Jacob James poured in 22 points followed by Dyllan Angeley with 14, Kyler Groves with 13, Easton Stewart with 11, Jared Smith seven, Connor Murray with five and Adan Martinez with four points.
Trailing 28-15 with 5:03 left in the first half, the Lions tallied 21 of the final 23 points in the quarter to built a 36-30 halftime edge. The surge continued as Brownwood’s lead peaked at 47-34 at the 5:55 mark of the third period, capping a 32-6 run for the Lions.
By the end of the third period, however, the momentum had begun to shift back to Snyder, which trimmed the deficit to 53-46 heading into the final eight-minute stanza.
“When we were up 13 with about a minute and a half left in the third, I saw an opportunity to get Tristan some rest and they went on a little 6-0 run to end the quarter, and that was big,” Parker said.
Snyder eventually drew even at 57 with 4:26 to go on a three-pointer by Stewart.
It appeared for a moment, however, as though Brownwood had reclaimed the edge as Salinas scored seven straight points – two on free throws, two on a layup after a steal, then a three-pointer – to push the Lions back in front, 64-57, at the 4:03 mark.
Leading 66-59 with 3:12 to go, the Lions mustered just one free throw over the next three minutes, aiding Snyder in its 17-1 closing surge. Brownwood also committed five of its 16 turnovers in fourth quarter, and missed four of its last five free throw attempts after making five of the first six in the period and 12 of the first 18 for the game. Snyder, meanwhile, drained all 11 of its free throw attempts in the final period and converted 25 of 34 for the contest.
“Snyder’s been in close games all season and that was one of our first close games and we didn’t handle it very well,” Parker said. “We were 48 percent from the free throw line, they were 78 percent. They hit 11 threes and we hit five, and that makes it tough to win. We have to figure out a way to score better and not turn the ball over.”
The Lions will attempt to re-establish positive momentum when they return to action at the TexasBank Holiday Classic Dec. 28-30. A story previewing the Classic will appear in the coming days on BrownwoodNews.com.
