At full strength for the first time this season, the Brownwood Lions shook off a slow start and took control in the second half en route to a 77-63 victory over the Class 3A Jim Ned Indians Tuesday night at Warren Gym – their first triumph of the season.
“We got after it,” said Lions second-year head coach Will Parker. “Getting the football guys out here and getting their legs going again was nice to see. I wasn’t expecting them and didn’t really want them this early, but it’s nice to have everybody back together. It was a fun game to come see these athletes play and hopefully we can clean it up and get a little better with more consistency out there.”
Trailing 18-8 after one quarter, the Lions (1-2) closed the gap to 37-36 by halftime and opened a 52-42 edge over Jim Ned (1-1) after three quarters.
“That happens with the way we play sometimes,” Parker said of the slow start. “They hit some shots, three or four threes in a row and we were missing some easy buckets and some free throws. We adjusted to the way the game was going and we finally figured out when we go inside we’re tough to beat. Good things happen when we attack the basket and that’s the mentality we have to have going forward.”
Tristan Salinas led the Lions with 33 points in his season debut, including 17 points in the second period alone, which fueled Brownwood’s comeback.
“He’s been itching to get out here,” Parker said of Salinas. “His work in open gym coming every Sunday to play is really paying off and I hope the younger guys see that. You can be a multi-sport athlete and still be ready for this season, and hats off to him. He’s been working on the football field, but in the gym, too. I’m hoping a senior like that shows the freshmen and sophomores that the time you put in and playing against older guys in open gym will pay off.”
Along with Salinas’ effort, the Lions received 13 points from Caleb Clawson followed by eight from Hayden Noe, six from Thad Hinds, four each from Ike Hall and Luke Gray, two apiece from Sam Bruton, Trent Loftin, Jason Jackson and Morsello Hooker, and one point from Hayden Proffitt.
Proffitt led the defensive effort for the Lions, who created 31 turnovers – several due to charging calls. Most of those took place in the third period, where Brownwood owned a 16-5 scoring edge and seized the momentum.
“I’m really proud of Hayden Proffitt for continuing to step in there and take charges,” Parker said. “That just shows you how mentally strong he is, and for me that was definitely the highlight of the night. Defensively, we really tried to focus on keeping the ball out of the middle and limiting them to one shot. We did a pretty good job of limiting them in the second half, and we did well on the rebounding end as well.”
The Lions finished with 20 turnovers but also converted 21 of 31 free throws, including 12 of 16 in the second half. Jim Ned sank 17 of 33 shots from the charity stripe, but connected on just of 2 of 13 free throws after halftime.
Wyatt Nickson led the Indians with 17 points and Hank Ritter chipped in a dozen.
Brownwood’s largest lead reached 22 points, 72-50, with just under three minutes left on a bucket by Hinds.
The Lions will open play in the Dublin tournament Thursday against Goldthwaite.
