Moving to 1-1 in district play, the Levelland Lobos fell to the Estacado Matadors, 67-50, in Lubbock Tuesday.
Playing aggressive out of the gate, the Lobos were able to match the Matadors energy in the first half.
Taking a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, Levelland Head Coach Parker Hicks felt that his squad competed and didn’t feel intimidated.
Continuing the fight, the Lobos went into halftime down one point at the half, 29-28.
“We played a really good first half and we we’re down one, but we also felt like we had a fighting chance going into the second,” said Coach Hicks.
The tide turned against Levelland in the third quarter as the Matadors put together a double-digit run that solidified the Estacado lead.
Levelland stayed competitive and rebounded some of their momentum in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t regroup before the clock hit zero’s.
“I heard from a good coach a long time ago, you either lose a game or you run out of time and I thought we just kind of ran out of time,” said Coach Hicks. “The scoreboard shows we lost it but with our mindset we won the game because it showed us what we need to do to get better and that’s what you want from a loss.”
Coming out of the game, Coach Hicks was pleased with his group as they looked forward to playing tough competition in the Matadors.
“We still thought we could have played a little bit better and if we could have played our game through the first and second, were playing right there with the team to beat in the district,” said Coach Hicks. “I was really proud of the way our guys competed and kept playing even through adversity. We never quit and that’s what was really eye opening for us and good for us.”
The loss moves the Lobos to 11-12 overall and 1-1 in district while Estacado improves to 14-15 on the season and 2-0 in the district.
Taeshaun Jones has been the senior leader for the Lobos and has been a force on the hardwood offensively and defensively.
Jones had 25 points to lead Levelland and Eryk Jones scored 12 points while Jayden Castillo and Carson Boggs scored four points each.
Zameron LeCroy added three and Konner Alexander had two against Estacado.
Two games into district, Coach Hicks is continuing to encourage his team to refine themselves.
“We’ve talked all year about protecting the ball and keeping the opponent team off the offensive glass,” said Coach Hicks. “We did a good job for the most part taking care of the ball but there were some spurts where we had bad turnovers.”
Emphasizing the importance of each possession, Coach Hicks is trying to help his team understand if they keep working at their flaws, improvement will continue to come as they have yet to reach their ceiling.
“We’re starting to see strides, but to be the best and to beat the best, we’re going to have to be at our best,”explained Coach Hicks. “We’re still trying to get there; we still think we can be a little better, but we have to take advantage of those opportunities.