With an opportunity to unclutter the middle of the 6-4A standings and hand the league champion Glen Rose Tigers their only defeat in district action, the Brownwood Lions instead let the game get away from them in the second half as they dropped their home finale at Warren Gym, 58-45, Friday night.
The loss also pushed playoff-bound Brownwood (13-16, 3-4) into a three-way for second-place with Stephenville (14-17, 3-4) and Graham (16-15, 3-4) – following the Yellow Jackets’ 56-39 victory over Mineral Wells (11-23, 1-6) Friday night – with one game remaining for all three teams.
The Lions visit Mineral Wells at 7 p.m Monday where a win and a Graham victory over Stephenville gives Brownwood the No. 2 seed. If the Lions are victorious and Stephenville knocks off Graham, Brownwood would be the three seed. The Lions could also finish as the fourth seed with a loss to Mineral Wells and a Graham victory over Stephenville.
“We just need to look at ourselves and go over to Mineral Wells and play like it’s a playoff game, which it really is,” said Lions’ second-year head coach Will Parker. “We have to go take care of business.”
Against Glen Rose Friday night, the Lions owned a 25-20 halftime edge, but the Tigers (28-6, 8-0) opened the second half on an 8-2 run and closed the third period with a 9-2 spurt to carry a 42-35 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Lions closed to within four points, 44-40, with 5:26 remaining, but the Tigers finished the contest by tallying 14 of the last 19 points.
Brownwood opened the outing with a 9-0 run, forcing turnovers on Glen Rose’s first four possessions just 91 seconds into the game. But the Tigers crept within 16-12 by the end of the period and took their first lead, 18-16, midway through the second quarter. Trailing 20-18 with 1:41 left before intermission, the Lions fired off the final seven points for their 25-20 halftime cushion.
“We stopped doing some things that helped us be successful, especially early in the first quarter like getting to the rim and offensive rebounds,” Parker said. “You just didn’t see much of that in the second half. Maybe they made some adjustments I didn’t see, but their defense locked down on us. We have to go back and try and figure out what we can do to get better.”
Tristan Salinas led Brownwood with 18 points trailed by Luke Gray and Ike Hall with seven each, Hayden Noe and Morsello Hooker with six apiece, and Sam Bruton chipped in a free throw.
Glen Rose was sparked by 13 points from Caden Smith, 11 from J.R. Thompson, 10 from Zeke Niedziela, eight from Tomas De La Cruz, seven from Bryce Birl, six from Camden Singletary and three from Colton Andress.
“What we’ve been talking about all year is trying to play 32 minutes of basketball, being aggressive and really trying to make a statement about what Brownwood basketball is all about,” Parker said. “I’m really proud of our effort for most of the game, but we’ve got to get it where we’re going for 32 minutes. We have to figure out a way to get it done.”
