The District 13-A co-champion and top seed May Tigers built a 13-point halftime lead, only to witness it dwindle to three in the fourth period, but held on for a 49-42 victory over the TABC Class A No. 25 Lingleville Cardinals Friday night at the Brownwood Coliseum in playoff warm-up action.
The Tigers (25-5) were fueled by 18 points from Braden Steele, 10 from Zach Martin, eight from Luke McKenzie, seven from Ben Harrell, three from Bryson Guerrero, two from Cade Lindley and one point from J.D. White.
Lingleville (17-11) – the third-place team out of District 19-A – received 14 points from Alex Carrizales, nine from Jorge Toledo, five from Xavier Figueroa, four each from Issac Martinez and Joseph Briseno, and two points apiece from Fernando Moreno, Jaxson Rives and Rogello Rangel.
Trailing 12-8 after one quarter, a string of 15 unanswered points in the second period allowed May to seize control.
A traditional three-point play by McKenzie started the run and pushed the Tigers in front, 15-14. McKenzie added two free throws before Steele scored a layup off a steal and then drained a three-pointer to stake May to a 22-14 advantage. Steele and Martin added buckets before the spurt ended as the Tigers were in front 27-14 with 1:37 left before halftime.
The Tigers carried a 29-16 lead into intermission, but Lingleville stormed back and crept within 37-33 at the end of the third period. Leading 36-24 with 4:24 left in the third period after the Lingleville bench was whistled for a technical foul, the Tigers fell victim to a 9-1 run by the Cardinals to conclude the frame.
With 4:05 to go, May’s lead stood at just 40-37. The Tigers answered with seven of the next nine points, stretching the advantage to 47-39 with 1:53 remaining. Steele chipped in four points, Lindley added a bucket and Guerrero sank a free throw during the decisive run.
May will open postseason action at 6 p.m. Monday against District 14-A fourth seed Ira in Winters.
