Monday, April 29, 2024
Granbury High School boys basketball 22-23
GHS Pirates’ season ends in thrilling overtime loss
In their first basketball playoff appearance since 2016, the Granbury Pirates came close to advancing to the second round before dropping a 47-45 overtime Class 5A bi-district contest to Fort Worth Arlington Heights Tuesday in Crowley.
GHS junior Kensington Colston’s three-point basket at the end of regulation forced the extra period. The defensive struggle was tied at 18 at the half.
Juniors Dylan Couto and Isaiah Trejo led the Pirates in scoring with 19 and 14 points, respectively.
The Pirates finished the season 20-13 and were second in District 5-5A. The Yellowjackets advanced with a 22-12 mark.
“Turnovers and missed free throws are the take. But we guarded their brains out,” Granbury head coach David Breazeale said. “I hate the ‘proud of my team’ cliches, but, man. That was an effort. You can look at a lot of things and should-haves all day.
“So glad I had the privilege of coaching the long-time seniors — True (Hughes) for three varsity years. Makai Scott. So thankful. Solomon Hanchell is ... just my guy.
“So we go to off-season. Tons of good ones returning and a 20-4 JV.”
The Pirates’ varsity roster featured largely juniors.
LADY INDIANS MOVE TO REGIONALS AGAIN
It’s just not a regional tournament if the Lipan Lady Indians aren’t playing, which they will be doing once again after disposing of Windthorst 47-30 in the Class 2A Region II quarterfinals Tuesday in Mineral Wells.
The Lady Indians, ranked No. 3 in the state, were playing Cooper (28-10) in the regional semifinals Friday, Feb. 24 at McKinney North High School. The winner will take on the survivor between No. 1 Nocona (36-0) and No. 11 Muenster (29-7) in the championship game Saturday at 1 p.m. at the same site.
Against Windthorst (27-5), ranked 12th in the state, the game was tied at 22 at the half and Lipan led 30-27 entering the final quarter. Then, the Lady Indians ended the game with a 17-3 run.
Taylor Branson paced Lipan with 13 points and six rebounds. Chelsea Lott scored 11 points with seven rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.
Also, Lynsey Little added nine points, Trinity Benitez grabbed five rebounds and Madison Cornelius had four assists.
INDIANS THUMP BI-DISTRICT FOE
The Lipan Indians (31-1), No. 1 in the state, had little trouble with Valley Mills (9-16) in their Class 2A boys bi-district playoff contest Monday in Glen Rose, winning 83-38. The Indians put away the contest with a 45-14 run over the second half.
Lipan was led by Tripp Phillips with 22 points, while Garrett Smith scored 21 with seven assists. Tate Branson scored a dozen points and Tyson Tarpley added 11, with Reese Cook narrowly missing double digits with nine points.
Cole Reynolds and Darius Steed each pulled down five rebounds and Korey Massie paced the defense with three steals.
Lipan returned to Glen Rose to play Cisco (21-7) in the second round of the playoffs at press time Thursday, Feb. 23. The winner will play the winner between Itasca (18-13) and Albany (11-5) early next week in the Region II quarterfinals.
RATTLERS ADVANCE TO ROUND 2
The Tolar Rattlers (26-7) dropped Italy (11-15) 55-47 in their Class 2A boys bi-district basketball matchup Tuesday at Joshua to move on to the second round of the playoffs. Reis Brown led Tolar offensively with 22 points, while Merritt Imel grabbed 10 rebounds and paced the defense with five blocked shots.
The Rattlers, ranked No. 21 in the state, were playing Hawley (14-4) at press time on Friday, Feb. 24, at Eastland High School. The winner will face Nocona (22-11) or Poolville (22-13) in the Region II quarterfinals early next week.
Tolar and Poolville are out of in District 11-2A. The Rattlers are 3-0 against the Monarchs this season, defeating them twice in district (66-59 at home and 49-35 on the road), along with a 55-40 win in Poolville’s Tournament.
