BEEVILLE – The Trojan varsity basketball team forged a strong second half to capture a tough 61-58 victory to open District 30-4A play on Friday night.

The Victoria East Titans poured in 20 first period points while the Trojans put 14 markers on their side of the scoreboard. The pace slowed in the second quarter but the visitors still led at the half by seven, 30-23.

The Trojans came out for the third quarter and worked outside and inside for to make up those seven points and even build their own lead to three points, 45-42, by outscoring the visitors 22-12. Brent Reyna hit his first three-pointer of the evening to start the third period to get the Trojans back on track.

The teams battled evenly over the final eight minutes. The Titans regained a slim 54-52 lead, but Beeville post Cameron Kremers got to the charity stripe for two and calmly hit both shots to tie it at 54-54 with less than three minutes left on the clock.

The Trojans never trailed again as Cody Vasquez made good on another pair of free throws to give the hosts a 56-54 advantage. Kremers scored a basket in the lane for a late 58-54 margin. The Titans did not fold and got within one point at 59-58 but were forced to foul with just a few seconds remaining in the game. Vasquez returned to the foul line and sank both free throws to give the Trojans the three-point victory.

Reyna led all scorers with a game-high 26 points, 18 of those came in the second half Trojan rally. Kremers worked inside for 19 markers. Vasquez finished with seven points, hitting all four of his free throws in the final couple of minutes to help ensure the victory. Tyler Stewart finished with four points, Hunter Hardy had three and Lucas Glew supplied two.

The Trojans will play in the Sinton Pirate tournament that begins on Friday and runs through the Saturday finals.

The District 30-4A battles resume on Jan. 4 when the Trojans travel to Port Lavaca to play the Sandcrabs.