Clinging to an 18-17 lead with 5:33 left in the first half, the Brownwood Lions reeled off the next 22 points en route to their third straight victory, 64-45 over the San Angelo Lake View Chiefs Tuesday night at Warren Gym.
“We’re in shape and not sick,” Lions fifth-year head coach Nadir Dalleh said in regard to the keys to the Lions’ win streak. “We have a few less injuries. It hit us all at once the first week when we had four kids at practice and had to go play Brock and then Dublin. That was a tough deal. But if the kids can stay healthy and sickness free, we’re going to make a good little run I hope.”
Brownwood (3-3) held Lake View (3-5) scoreless for a span of 9:14 at the end of the first half and start of the second, as the Lions tallied the final 11 points of the second quarter and first 11 points of the third frame.
“That little run was huge,” Dalleh said. “These kids are fun to coach and watch and deal with, and that showed what they can do. They can get out and run and finish but we did miss a lot of shots at the rim, and we have to finish those. It’s still early on in the season and we have to get better at that.”
Bryson Monroe was one of three Lions to finish in double figures with a team-high 17 points trailed by Jakob Hataway with 14 and Christian Kinzler with 10. Zach Porter added eight points, Blake Brashear chipped in four, Michael Felts contributed three and Antonio Salinas, Nathan Wheelington and Asher Choate added two points apiece.
“We haven’t shot the ball real well lately and to have three guys in double figures, that’s like the team from the past two years when you never knew who was going to have a great night,” Dalleh said. “That’s become this team if we keep working, get better at what we’re doing and keep executing.”
The Chiefs received 12 points from Juan Perez, and nine each from Tony Cabrera and Erick Torres.
Brownwood trailed 8-3 at the 5:12 mark of the first period but registered the next six points for a 9-8 edge. Down 10-9 at the 3:27 mark, a three-pointer from Monroe put the Lions up for good, 12-10, and Brownwood led 16-12 after one quarter.
“We came out really sloppy,” Dalleh said. “Something we talked about was coming out and executing from the start, and it was kind of slow and back and forth for a while, but then our kids got into a rhythm. That’s what we have to do from the start, but a win’s a win and we’ll take it.”
A bucket by Kinzler pushed the Lions’ lead to 18-12 just 42 seconds into the second quarter, but Lake View tallied the next five points – including a three-pointer by Cabrera – which trimmed the lead to one point. But from then on, Brownwood dominated the contest.
The Lions’ 11-0 run to end the first half featured five points from Hataway and two apiece from Monroe, Kinzler and Salinas. The 11-0 spurt to start the second half featured four points from Porter, three from Hataway and two each from Felts and Monroe.
Brownwood will attempt to extend its win streak to four games at 7:30 p.m. Friday at No. 11 China Spring.
