Tristan Salinas’ buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the third period ignited a decisive 15-2 run for the Brownwood Lions, as they chalked up a 66-57 victory over the Early Longhorns Thursday night at the Brownwood Coliseum in TexasBank Holiday Classic action.
Knotted at 37 in the closing seconds of the third, Salinas pulled up from the top of the key and drained the trey, which gave Brownwood the lead for the good against a pesky Early squad.
“There’s certain times in basketball games where momentum is critical and the third quarter can be one of those times,” said Lions second-year head coach Will Parker. “I thought Tristan did a good job stepping up and being confident in taking that shot, and I love that about him.”
The Lions started the fourth period with another three-pointer from Hayden Noe, increasing the lead to 43-37, then Luke Gray added a pair of free throws to boost the advantage to 45-37.
After a bucket by Early’s John Hill closed the gap to 45-39 with 7:12 left, the Lions reeled off seven more points – two free throws by Morsello Hooker, a bucket off a steal by Thad Hinds, and another trey from Salinas that extended the lead to 52-39 with 6:09 to go, which capped the critical run.
“They were running a zone and we got up a few possessions, so I told the guys we could spread them out more,” Parker said. “When two guards come up, they can come out and then we can attack the basket. Those are things we need to work on. We haven’t had a whole lot of close games so I tried to use this is an opportunity to work on some game scenarios. We’ve got so many guys learning their roles right now and this just gives them so much more confidence going forward.”
A three-point play by Gray with 5:14 to go gave Brownwood its biggest lead, 57-43, but the Longhorns whittled away at the lead and crept within eight, 59-51, on a trey by Jeremy Brown with 3:14 left on the clock.
“A positive about tonight and really every night is our kids don’t quit,” said Early head coach Eric Davis. “They’re going to fight to the very end and they did a good job of that. Both teams played really hard, I just feel like we missed a lot of shots around the basket. I don’t know if playing in the Coliseum made it tougher for them to shoot, but we just didn’t make a lot of shots that I felt like we were capable of making, and it hurt us.”
A three-point play from Ike Hall and a driving bucket by Salinas extended the Lions’ lead back to 13 points, 64-51, with 1:47 left, which essentially iced the victory.
Brownwood jumped out to a 15-6 lead after one quarter, and opened a double-digit edge, 17-6, on a bucket by Hall just 23 seconds into the second period.
Early then clawed its way back into the contest, eventually grabbing the lead, 21-20, on a three-pointer by Colton Allen with 16 seconds left in the half. The Lions regained the lead just before the buzzer, however, as Noe knocked down a trey for a 23-21 halftime lead.
In the third period, the Lions extended the lead to 28-21 on two free throws by Hall and another trey from Noe. But Early fired back with nine straight points – two from Dalton Adams, a three-pointer by Kamden Gamblin, and two free throws from Brown that knotted the score, then a pair of free throws by Allen at the 3:32 mark pushed the Longhorns in front, 30-28.
The Lions answered with a bucket underneath by Gray and a three-pointer from Salinas after an inbounds steal, which gave Brownwood a 33-30 edge at the 2:21 mark of the third.
Trailing 37-34, a three-point play from Brown evened the score for Early with 10 seconds left in the third.
Gray led the Lions with 22 points trailed by Salinas with 15; Hooker with nine; Hall with seven; Noe with six; Gage Sparks with three; and Hinds and Ryder Lancaster with two points apiece.
Kaleb Hoffman paced Early with 14 points followed by Brown with 11; Allen with 10; Price with seven; Hill and Andrew Catan with four apiece; Gamblin with three; and Adams and John-Stewart Gordon with two points each.
The Lions (10-7) conclude tournament action at 4 p.m. Friday at Brownwood High against Wall.
“We’re going to play a really good Wall team, they have some players that can really go,” Parker said. “I just want us to be able to go out there and compete against a team like that. It’ll be a great opportunity for us at home to continue to grow and learn as we get closer to district.”
Meanwhile, the Longhorns’ (9-8) final game of the Classic will also take place against Wall at 8 p.m. Friday at Brownwood High’s Warren Gym.
“This has been a good tournament for us and we’ve played some really tough teams, but our district is one of the toughest in the state so we have to do that to get ready,” Davis said. “We play 5A and 4A schools and that helps us get better. It’s not a guaranteed win, but we don’t mind challenging ourselves to better the program and better the kids.”
