Trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half and leading by as much as 10 in the second, the Brownwood Lions eventually fought off a late charge from the Class 5A Abilene Cooper Cougars Tuesday night at Warren Gym for an 86-84 victory – the ninth triumph in a row for first-year head coach Will Parker’s squad.
“That’s a dang good team but I really think that we wore them down,” Parker said of Cooper. “We kept the pressure up. We’re trying to wear teams down so that in the second half we’re in control and I thought we did that. We had some spurts there where we gave up some easy points but when you play this fast sometimes that happens, but I thought the guys handled themselves well.”
The Lions (11-3) were fueled by 21 points from Jakob Hataway, 19 each from Luke Moss and Christian Kinzler, eight apiece from Bryson Monroe and Ike Hall, three each from Thad Hinds, Tristan Salinas and Weston Burns, and two points from Seth Oines.
For Cooper (7-5), Jalen Cherry poured in a game-high 22 points, Jaelyn Rivera chipped in 16 and Andrew Gonzales contributed 14 points.
Trailing at one point 23-8 in the first period, the Lions closed the gap to 25-15 by the end of the quarter. In the second quarter, Brownwood completely erased Cooper’s lead, drawing even at 42, but the Cougars scored in the closing seconds of the period to take a 44-42 lead into halftime.
“The same kind of start happened at Jim Ned,” Parker said. “We were down 20-5, so I really think that kind of experience helped us here. Eventually our guys calmed down. It was a really great crowd and I thought we were more in our element once we got comfortable out there.”
Brownwood began the second half with three consecutive three-pointers, and scored 14 of the first 16 points – with another trey mixed in – to open a 56-46 advantage with 4:12 left in the third, as the Lions never trailed again. Monroe drained a pair of three-pointers during the spurt while Hataway and Hall each added one.
“Bryson had zero points in the first half and (Assistant) Coach (Derrick) Stacks and I talked at halftime that we had to get him going early and I thought we did a good job of that,” Parker said. “Hat’s off to him, he’s the one that stepped up and hit some shots.
The Lions took a 63-55 lead into the fourth period that dwindled to 68-67 with 4:49 remaining. Brownwood responded by going inside to Kinzler and Moss who combined for the game’s next nine points, pushing the lead back to double figures, 77-67, with 3:28 to go.
Cooper trimmed the deficit to 85-82 on a three-pointer with 12 seconds left, but Hataway converted a free throw on the other end to push the advantage to four points and two possessions, essentially icing the outcome.
“If we’re in close games I feel like we have the advantage,” Parker said. “Our guys are able to be composed and that’s what happens when you’re starting five seniors. I’m really proud of those guys, they listened in the time outs and were able to go out there and execute.”
Next for the Lions is a 4:30 p.m. Friday road tilt at 5A Wichita Falls Rider, as Brownwood eyes a 10th win in a row.
“It’s awesome,” Parker said of the win streak, “but what we’re looking for is district. We’re going to back and watch film, win or lose, and we’re going to try and get better for Lampasas, Glen Rose, Gatesville and Stephenville. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
