Late push not enough for THS
Lobos keep Tigers at bay, 62-42
“Longview threw a wide zone at us today, and we had some deer-in-theheadlight looks because we’ve worked almost solely against manto-man defenses.” — Jacob Skinner, THS head coach
TEXARKANA, Texas — Longview thwarted any chance Texas High’s boys basketball team had of a comeback in the third quarter.
Down 13 at halftime, the Tigers got as close as 11 points early in the second half, but Longview broke the game open with an 11-point streak and claimed a 62-42 win Monday at Tiger Center.
The Lobos shot 50 percent (24 of 48) from the field and had as many 3s and 2-point baskets (12 each).
The Tigers (1-3) finished with a 30.6 field goal percentage on 15-of-49 shooting. C.J. Kelley led all scorers with 21 points and had seven rebounds for THS.
“We talked about it before the game today, and we’ve been shooting 35.5 percent from behind the arc,” Texas High coach Jacob Skinner said. “We live by the insideout (offense). If we can drive and get to the basket, we want to do that. We like threes, we love layups.
“Longview threw a wide zone at us today, and we had some deer-in-the-headlight looks because we’ve worked almost solely against man-toman defenses. It looked like our guys just froze up against that zone.”
Chase Glasper and Malik Henry each had double-doubles for the Lobos (3-1). Glasper drained five of the team’s 12 3-pointers and scored 18 points to go along with his 10 rebounds, and Henry scored 14 points to go along his his 12 boards, helping Longview win the battle on the glass, 37-29.
Longview took a 46-24 lead at the end of its third-quarter barrage, with 3:07 left in the third. The game was never closer than 20 points.
After Kelley drained a 3-pointer 1:18 into the game, the Lobos found Glasper on three straight possessions, and Glasper nailed a trio of treys to put Longview up 9-3.
Texas High scored the next five to get it to 9-8, but the Lobos closed out the quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 19-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
While Longview hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter, it was Henry who took over in the second quarter, scoring eight points, including three dunks, in the stanza.
“Early we were unsure of where to go with the ball,” Skinner said. “We did a better job in the third and fourth quarters. We moved the ball better.
“Longview is still Longview; it doesn’t matter what they’re classified as. We know they’re going to be athletic and well-coached, but we’re not going to say, oh it was Longview and chalk it up as a loss. It was really good to see the zone, and the things we’ll work and get better against that defense.”
THS cut its deficit to 27-20 before the Lobos scored six in a row to close the half, taking a 33-20 lead into intermission.
Montarius Johnson pulled down 10 rebounds for Texas High, and Michael Thomas added eight points.