The Corpus Christi King Mustangs were in Beeville on Monday night to open the regular season of high school basketball against the Beeville Trojans.
The 5A school captured the freshman and varsity tilts, but the Beeville junior varsity held off the Mustang JV in the final minutes to take the lone Trojans’ win, 53-48 over the Mustangs. The King freshman won 63-30 and the varsity contest went down to the wire before King held on for a 57-53 victory.
The freshman took the floor first at the Marion B. Horton gymnasium. King jumped out in front 16-6 at the end of the first quarter and cruised in from there. The Trojans trailed 40-11 at the half and by 40 points — 59-19 — going into the final period. The Trojans stuck with it and rallied to out score the young tall and talented Mustangs 11-4 over the final eight minutes to make the final a 63-30 win for the visitors.
“The kids did a good job of fighting to the end,” said Trojan coach Jesse Baez.
The young Trojans were led by John Camacho with eight points in the game. Dakota DelBosque followed with seven tallies. Brooks Holder added five points and Frank Gutierrez hit for four tallies in the loss. Preston Tabb recorded three points while brother Peyton Tabb contributed two markers. To complete the Beeville scoring, Brandon Lucio made good on one free throw.
The junior varsity contest looked like a King run-away in the first few minutes. The Mustangs ripped off the first six points of the game but the Beeville boys closed the gap as the quarter wore on and finished the first period trailing by just one at 15-14.
The Beeville JV took over for good right at the end of the half. A long-range jumper by Jared Carrillo put the Trojans in front by two, 29-27, just as the buzzer sounded, ending the second quarter.
The Trojans kept up their good play and hustle throughout the second half, capturing the third period 11-9 over the visitors. The scoreboard had the Trojans up by four, 40-36, going into the final quarter.
The four-point margin shrank to one at 47-46 but the Trojans led 51-48 with just seconds remaining. Chet Sparks added one last basket on a breakaway to make the final a 53-48 victory for the Trojans.
“The JV kids did a good job of executing throughout the game,” said Baez.
Sparks led all scorers with 19 while teammate Carrillo added 17 for the night. Jon Silva worked inside for eight points. B.J. Day hit for four in the tilt and Kevin Dang recorded three points in the Beeville win. Joe Arzola completed the scoring with a perfect two-for-two at the charity stripe.
The Trojan varsity were facing superior numbers and a much taller Mustang team on Monday. King pressed and created several early turnovers that led to a 13-8 advantage after one period. That five-point lead doubled in the second quarter as the visitors hit for 20 while holding the Trojans to 10 points. That made it a 33-18 ball game going into the half.
The Trojans did not fold against the taller Mustangs. The defensive intensity picked up and the Trojans started to find the range on their jumpers. Beeville recorded 20 points in the third while holding the Mustangs to just 10 points. The 15-point lead was now down to five with another quarter yet to play.
“I am proud of the effort that the kids put into the game. They did a great job of fighting and getting back into the game,” said Baez.
The Trojans pulled within two, 55-53, at the 37 second mark on a Jordan Gonzales jumper. But, the ball belonged to King. The Trojans were forced to foul and the Mustangs made good on their trip to the foul line to preserve a 57-53 victory.
Gonzales hit for 23 points with several coming in the second-half rally. Ysrael Barboza had 13 points in the close loss as did teammate Thomas Camacho. Adam Garcia completed the scoring with four points for the Trojans.
The Trojans will play in West Oso on Tuesday night against the always tough Bears. The freshman contest tips off at 5 p.m. with the JV following at 6 p.m. The varsity match-up will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Post a Comment
