After a two-game skid in the middle of district play, the Levelland Lobos found themselves back in the win column after a competitive home stand against the Estacado Matadors, 58-52, Friday night. The Lobos offense started the game hot as they outscored the eighth ranked Matadors, 17-9, in the first quarter. By half time, the Matadors
put together a 12-point second quarter while Levelland remained in the double-digits with 11 points.
Leading 28-21, the Lobos would retain their lead through the second half. With a 17-point third quarter and 13-point fourth quarter, Levelland would limit the Matadors to 16 points in the third and 15 points in the fourth. Levelland’s Carson Boggs led the Lobos offensively with 14 points while Eryk Jones followed closely with 13 points.
Taeshaun Jones wrapped up the game with 10 points and Konner Alexander had nine in the win. Jerry Haile added four points, Neamiah Campos and Zameron LeCroy scored three each and Jayden Castillo got two in the win. “We won the game, but we still had 30 turnovers,” said Levelland Head Coach Parker Hicks. “That’s a lot for us and that’s not what we want to do.”
Coach Hicks was proud of his team’s effort and ability to stay focused for all four quarters. “The guys stayed focused which allowed us to make winning plays throughout the game that is what won us the game,” explained Coach Hicks. “With our halfcourt defense, we had a really good game guarding them.”
The Lobos defense did not allow one Estacado three-pointer in the game and Coach Hicks was proud of his time holding a team such as the Matadors no three’s. “It is a huge difference maker and the other thing that we did really well is we kept them off the backboard,” explained Coach Hicks. “They didn’t have too many second chance points and that’s really good because that’s a team that lives off of turnovers and offensive rebounds.
The Levelland Lobos improve to 14-14 overall and 4-3 in district.
“Getting a win over Estacado is great given their history with Levelland but it was really good for our guys to show how good we can be and the potential we can play at,” said Coach Hicks. Coach Hicks understands that in a perfect world he would like his team to be playing their best going into the into district, through the second half and into the playoffs.
However, after dropping a handful of games that they felt like they could have won, getting a home win against a ranked opponent has the chance to get the Lobos back into the right mindset.
“At the end of the day, if wego 3-0, in these last three games, we could finish second in district,” explained Coach Hicks. “That’s our goal, but we have to take it one game at a time and move forward from Friday night.” Moving forward with down the stretch with district play, Coach Hicks is hopeful that the team’s maturity will keep his team locked in for the next three games that could set the Lobos up for a playoff spot.
