Mustangs rout Chiefs, collect first district win
Sweetwater entered Friday’s District 5-4A contest with San Angelo Lake View without a win in four games.
But it was Lake View with its back to the wall after the opening tip.
Sweetwater shot out to a 7-0 lead en route to a 64-37 win as the Mustangs (18-10, 1-4) ended a four-game skid that came after 11 consecutive victories prior to the start of 5-4A play.
Friday’s game was scoreless until a 3-pointer from Stason Hernandez and twopoint shot by Korda Moore got the Mustangs untracked about two minutes in. But it was an 18-0 Sweetwater run — turning a four-point (9-5) lead at the midpoint of the first quarter into a 27-5 advantage — that all but finished off Lake View.
The lead was 24, 36-12, at halftime and grew to 36 points (56-20) after three periods.
Sweetwater still led by 36, 64-28, after a long 3-point basket at the 2:20 mark by Sweetwater’s Brycen Mann that drew the loudest cheer of the night. Lake View then finished with a 9-0 run.
Three players hit double figures — Moore with 16, Malik Brown with 14 and Hernandez with 10. Damarrius Walker finished the game with eight points and Caiden Smith five.
Tate Thompson scored four points, Mann three and both Roman Camacho and Jadyn Forbes two. Lake View, which is also 1-4 in district but is 6-20 for the season, got eight points by Jayden Mermella and Carlos Robledo. There are three teams tied for fourth as Big Spring, which lost to Estacado on Friday, is also 1-4.
Levelland — currently in third place at 3-2 — was to play Sweetwater here on Tuesday but was postponed, due to bad weather.
At press time a new date had not been announced.
Sweetwater had 44 points or less three straight games until the Mustangs had 54 in a two-point loss Wednesday at Lubbock Estacado, the current 5-4A leader at 5-0. Against Lake View they went 10 points higher again.
“Offensively, we are starting to play a lot better. We are moving the ball well,” said Sweetwater head coach Evan Grantham after Friday’s contest.
“I think we are playing better now, and gotten out of our funk in the last two games, and we’ve shot a lot better the last two games.”
Sweetwater is at Snyder (4-1) on Friday, then has home games vs. Big Spring on Feb. 7 and Estacado on Feb. 10 before ending the regular season at Lake View on Feb. 14, as the Mustangs hope to get on a roll toward the playoffs.