H.S. basketball: Abilene Wylie stuns Lubbock Coronado boys, still in playoff hunt
LUBBOCK – Two days after a 52-50 loss at Lubbock High, the last-place team in District 4-5A, the Wylie boys basketball team came up with a stunner – knocking off Lubbock Coronado 61-47 on Saturday.
“The guys did a great job bouncing back from a tough loss Thursday,” Wylie coach Gregg Ruffin said. “Proud of their ability to move on to the next challenge and beat a really good Coronado team at their place. Shows a lot about the character of our guys.”
Isaiah Carrillo led the Bulldogs (12-17 overall, 4-6 district) with a game-high 18 points, while Martin Marshall added 15, and Derek Evans had 12.
Tyler Williams led Coronado (17-10, 6-3) with 15 points, and Cam Manahan had 10.
Wylie led 30-29 at halftime and had just a two-point advantage going into the final quarter. But the Bulldogs outscored the Mustangs 21-9 in the frame – getting 10 points from Carrillo in the period.
Other than the loss at Lubbock High on Thursday, the Bulldogs have been one of the hottest teams in the league – beating Abilene Cooper 62-59 on the road Jan. 24 and nearly dealing Monterey is first district loss in a 56-53 decision at Wylie three days later.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak and puts the Bulldogs back in the playoff hunt with a chance to pull into a virtual tie with Lubbock-Cooper (16-13, 4-5) for the final playoff berth Tuesday in Abilene with two games left. The Pirates beat Abilene High 73-34 on Saturday in Woodrow.
Wylie finishes the regular-season at Abilene High on Friday, while Lubbock-Cooper still has games against Abilene Cooper (Friday in Lubbock) and front-running Monterey (Feb. 14).
Since the Pirates beat Wylie 78-66 in the first meeting, the two teams would meet in a play-in game should they finish tied.
Pirates race past Eagles
At Woodrow, Pierre Miller scored 18 points, and three other Lubbock-Cooper players scored in double figures as the Pirates pounded Abilene High 73-34 in a District 4-5A game.
Connor Gant added 14 points for the Pirates (16-13, 4-5), while Amare Garman had 13, and Dayne Collier had 10.
Brooks Reese led the Eagles (11-18, 3-7) with nine points. Brenner Paul and Connel Colley had six each.
AHS has a bye Tuesday before taking on Wylie on Friday.
Clyde upsets TLCA-San Angelo
At Clyde, Connor Hawk and Blake Carr combined for 22 points as Clyde knocked off District 6-3A leader TLCA-San Angelo 55-53.
Hawk led the Bulldogs (21-10, 7-4) with 12 points, and Carr had 10. Dai’Jon Booker added nine.
Jaidden Villanueva led the Eagles (22-6, 9-2) with 19 points, and Luis Castillo had 14.
Hawk and Carr scored four points each as Clyde outscored TLCA 12-11 in the final quarter to hold for the win. Clyde hit all six free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter, including four by Carr.
Clyde hosts Jim Ned on Tuesday.
Badgers edge Coahoma
At Coahoma, Kooper Darby poured in a game-high 37 points to guide Merkel past Coahoma 68-61 in a District 6-3A game.
Maddox O’Malley followed Darby with 10 points for the Badgers (16-14, 5-6).
Ryan Shifflett led Coahoma (14-13, 4-7) with 16 points, and Landon Wells had 13.
Coahoma led 34-32 at halftime, but the Badgers outscored the Bulldogs 21-5 in the third quarter and held off a furious charge to stay in the playoff hunt.
Coahoma plays district leader TLCA-San Angelo at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Coahoma.
Merkel is home Tuesday against Wall.
Westbrook blasts TLCA-Abilene
At Abilene, four Westbrook players scored in double figures as the Wildcats beat TLCA-Abilene 56-21 in a District 14-1A game.
Jaxson Browne led the Wildcats (10-3, 9-2) with 13 points, followed by Brennan Larson with 12, while Grayson Jeffrey and Ethan King had 10 each.
Tate Northcutt led the Eagles (3-21, 0-11) with 13 points.
Westbrook plays at Loraine on Tuesday, while the Eagles host Trent.
Knox City thwarts Roby
At Knox City, Bryson Callaway and Nicholas Trevino combined for 30 points to lead Knox City past Roby 64-33 in a District 15-1A game.
Callaway led the Greyhounds (19-8, 9-1) with 16 points, and Trevino followed with 14. Gage Morrow and Blake Abila had eight each.
Ethan Hernandez led Roby with 13 points, and Brennan Faucett had 10.
Roby plays at Haskell Paint Creek on Tuesday, while Knox City has a bye before going to Aspermont on Friday.
GIRLS
Coahoma stuns Merkel
At Coahoma, Baylor Wright score a game-high 14 points, and Coahoma stunned No. 19 Merkel 67-53 in a District 6-3A game.
Isabella Cox added 12 points, and Shae Lang had nine for the Bulldoggettes (12-17, 5-8).
Jada O’Kelly led Merkel (22-9, 9-4) with 13 points, and Avery Holloway had 11.
Merkel hosts No. 14 Wall on Tuesday in the district finale, while Coahoma is home against TLCA-San Angelo.
Huckabay denies Gorman
At Gorman, Chayni Chamberlain and Gracie McDowell combined for 30 points as No. 1 Huckabay beat No. 5 Gorman 52-41 to win the District 19-1A title outright.
Chamberlain led Huckabay (33-2, 11-0) with 18 points, and McDowell had 12.
Delila Crain led the Panthers (29-3, 9-2) with 17 points, and Kyndall Scitern had eight. Huckabay swept the district series, beating Gorman 45-24 in the first meeting.
Gorman plays at Bluff Dale in the district finale Tuesday, while Huckabay is at Lingleville.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Wylie surprises Lubbock Coronado boys in basketball
