Trailing 52-38 just 1:17 into the second half, the Brownwood Lions responded with a 20-2 run to grab a four-point lead with 2:39 left in the third period, but couldn’t hold on as the La Grange Leopards regrouped and claimed an 83-77 victory in Boys Gold Bracket action at the TexasBank Holiday Classic Friday morning at Warren Gym.
“We have to be able to play 32 minutes and I thought we got very complacent offensively, especially at the end,” said Lions head coach Will Parker. “That’s a very good team and I don’t want to take anything away from them, they battled through a lot. I’m glad we played a team like that because this kind of basketball will make us better.”
La Grange lost 6-6 sophomore post Brandon Mathis, who at the time had 15 points, to a second technical foul, which aided the Lions in their rally. But Cordale Knapik poured in 21 points for the Leopards, Devonte McKenzie added 17, and Conner Brooks tacked on 16, though 13 of those points came in the first half.
“We knew their size and athleticism was going to be very difficult,” Parker said. “This is probably the best team we’ve played so far this season. We had a lot of switching going on, a lot of smaller guys playing bigger guys. When we go back and look at the film we’re learn a lot about being in the right position and angles and things we’re going to have to do better when we get to district.”
The Brownwood effort was sparked by a 39-point performance from Casey Friebel – who scored 10 points in the first period and added 15 more before halftime – while Durham Brown recorded 14, Elias Perez chipped in 12, Ross Strasner finished with eight and Devin Eanes contributed four points.
The key 20-2 run by the Lions started with a trey by Brown, then Freibel followed with three free throws after the departure of Mathis. Buckets from Strasner and Brown closed the gap the 52-48 before a pair of Brown free throws made the score 52-50. Brownwood’s string of 14 straight points was capped by another Brown bucket, knotting the score at 52. After Knapik stopped the bleeding and put La Grange back in front, 54-52, the Lions struck back with consecutive treys from Friebel and Strasner for the 58-54 edge.
“We hit shots and with us, it comes down to shooting at a high percentage,” Parker said of the Lions’ rally. “When we’re hitting threes and guys are coming out on us those are the times we have to take advantage of getting to the paint. We got a lot of calls for the first three quarters, but in the fourth quarter we stopped doing that. I don’t know if we were tired or didn’t have the depth, but that’s no excuse, we have to continue doing those things.”
La Grange clawed back and evened the game at 61 at the end of the third period. Knotted at 65 with 4:29 left, the Leopards reeled off the next five points to gain a 70-65 edge with 2:58 left, and the Lions were never able to recover.
The Lions (13-7) wrap up TexasBank Holiday Classic action at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Brownwood Coliseum against Alvarado, and at 2:40 p.m. at Warren Gym against Greenwood.
“We’re playing two good teams tomorrow and I don’t want to see any dead legs,” Parker said. “I want to see the bounce and pep in our step we had early in this game.”
