Strong first half saves Exporters
SAN ANTONIO —Brazosport and Midlothian Heritage both made their first appearances at the UIL state basketball tournament Friday, but only Heritage displayed any jitters.
The Jaguars eventually made a push, but it was too late.
Everything Heritage did right in the final two quarters couldn’t make up for the hole it was put in by Brazosport’s first-half surge.
The Exporters’ 25-point lead was trimmed to eight, but they held on for a 73-64 victory in the Class 4A state semifinals at the Alamodome.
Brazosport (33-3) will meet Silsbee (32-6) in the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday. Silsbee, ranked No. 1 in the state, narrowly escaped with a 4645 victory against Argyle on Friday.
“We came out a little flat (and) a little nervous,” Heritage coach Andy Slye said. “Couldn’t put the ball in the basket and really let (Brazosport guard Chris Rossow) create some things. It was in our game plan to not let him.”
Rossow, who finished with a team-high 17 points, had nine in a second quarter in which the Exporters kept their foot on the gas.
The Jaguars didn’t have an answer for Brazosport’s pressure to start, going nearly four minutes before scoring. A quick sevenpoint spurt — all coming from Jackson McLaughlin — cut Brazosport’s lead to two with 3:20 left in the first quarter.
The pressure kept coming, and Heritage only managed one basket until more than two minutes were gone in the second. A Brazosport 24-4 run ballooned the Exporters’ lead to 22 points and it eventually stretched to 25.
“We’ve been doing this for a long time, so I don’t think we should get nervous,” Rossow said. “We just come out and play our game the best we can.”
Added Brazosport coach Ondra Waddy: “They’ve played on different stages. Not as big as this stage, but those guys are comfortable and they’re confident in their ability and skill. That played a big part in the beginning of the game and we were able to jump on them defensively.”
Slye’s message at halftime was simple: Show some fight and show some grit. Heritage did that. A quick 7-2 spurt cut Brazosport’s lead to 20. The Jaguars ended the third quarter on a 14-0 run that cut the deficit to 13.
“We said it at halftime — cut it to 12 by the start of the fourth quarter and it was 13,” Slye said. “We knew we had a shot.”
Heritage got as close as eight. A Michael Holland layup made it 68-60 with 2:51 remaining, and the senior stole an errant pass on the other end and was fouled going up.
He missed both free throws, a theme that plagued Heritage. The Jaguars finished 20-of-39 from the line, missing five of their last six.
“That’s kind of been a struggle all year long,” Slye said. “We’ve got good shooters on our team but I don’t know what it is. We made some here and there, but when we needed it, we were struggling at the line.”
McLaughlin led all scorers with 24 points. Jalen Johnson had 16 points for the Exporters, while 6-7 Hunter Quick added 12 points and 18 rebounds.