At the midway point of the District 6-4A boys basketball schedule, clarity came for the Brownwood Lions in more ways than one.
Not only did the Lions halt a two-game district losing streak with one of their most complete outings of the season, Brownwood broke out of a four-way logjam behind district front-runner Glen Rose and currently sits in possession of the second playoff seed from 6-4A thanks to a 68-36 thrashing of the Mineral Wells Rams Friday night at Warren Gym.
Entering Friday’s action, Glen Rose was alone in first place in the District 6-4A standings with a 4-0 league mark, while the other four teams – Brownwood, Mineral Wells, Graham and Stephenville – were all tied for second place at 1-2.
Through the first half of district for all five teams now, Glen Rose (24-6, 4–0) continues to sit in first place, Brownwood (12-14, 2-2) and Graham (15-13, 2-2) are tied for second with the Lions owning the head-to-head advantage, and Mineral Wells (11-19, 1-3) and Stephenville (11-16, 1-3) are tied for fourth place, with the Rams holding the edge for the final playoff berth. Graham edged Stephenville, 48-46, in Friday’s other district outing.
“That was a lot of fun to be a part of, and I’m really proud of the guys for doing what they did,” Lions second-year head coach Will Parker said of Friday’s victory.
Four Lions finished in double figures as Tristan Salinas and Morsello Hooker led the charge with 13 points apiece followed by Hayden Noe with 11 and Thad Hinds with 10 points. Also contributing offensively were Ryder Lancaster with seven points, Luke Gray with six, Ike Hall with five, Jason Jackson with two, and Hayden Proffitt with a free throw while drawing multiple charges on Mineral Wells at the defensive end.
“It was nice having Ike back in the lineup, it gives us that much more athleticism and playmakers out there,” Parker said. “Then when you have guys step and hit shots the way we did tonight, we’re tough. Defensively on our press, I think that’s the best we’ve looked and we took advantage against their guards and hopefully we can continue to do that down the road.”
Tied at 9 after one quarter, the Lions jumped out to a 23-13 lead midway through the second period, only to witness Mineral Wells pull even at 23 with two minutes left before intermission. A bucket from Hooker gave the lead back to Brownwood for good, 25-23, then Hall drained a three-pointer and Salinas tacked on a free throw to give the Lions a 29-23 cushion at the break.
“In the first quarter we had a lot of unforced turnovers and that’s frustrating to watch because it makes me feel like we didn’t prepare the way we should because those are things that shouldn’t happen,” Parker said. “But I’m proud of our guys for fighting back in the second and third quarters and for playing our style of basketball and giving them fits the whole game.”
Brownwood dominated throughout the entirety of the second half, outscoring Mineral Wells 21-8 in the period to open a 50-31 advantage. The lead reached 20 points, 49-29, on a bucket by Lancaster with 1:09 left in the quarter.
In the fourth period, Brownwood owned an 18-5 scoring cushion to yield just 13 points the entire second half. The Lions pushed the lead to 30 points, 63-33, on a driving bucket by Hall. The advantage peaked at 34 points, 67-33, on Salinas’ final bucket with 3:06 to go.
The Lions are bound for Graham at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday to start the second half of the 6-4A slate.
