Sandies Open District Play with Convincing Win
Grapeland Hammers Latexo, 64-38
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – The Grapeland Sandies opened play in District 20-2A on Friday night as they welcomed the Latexo Tigers to town for a little hoops action.
Grapeland came into the game with a record of 19-1 and were ranked #3 in the last TABC poll of 2019. The Tigers, on the other hand, were 3-14 on the season and struggling to find their rhythm.
Given the two teams’ records coming into the game, the contest went as expected as the Sandies made quick work of the Tigers to open district play with a 64-38 win.
Austin Driskell
As the game got underway, Latexo struggled to find their shot and only managed to score three points in the opening eight minutes. Malachi Reese had two and Carson Hardy converted one of two from the line to account for the Tigers first quarter point production.
The Sandies used an outside/inside game to free up their offense. Austin Driskell was on fire from downtown as he drained three, three-pointers in the first quarter. Cadarian Wiley worked his way inside for four while Cooper Ward knocked down a shot from behind the arc. Keizion Ashford also scored from the paint as Grapeland raced out to an 18-3 lead.
The second quarter saw the Tigers’ offense get on track as they dropped in nine points. Sam Jones put in four while Tyler Lumbreraz hit a three and Hardy chipped in two.
The threes continued to fall for the Sandies in the second quarter. BJ Lamb drained a pair of threes while Deco Bryant and Riley Murchison also connected from behind the arc. Both Driskell and Wiley worked inside for four apiece while Ashford chipped in a basket to make the score 40-12 at the half.
Following the break, the Tigers offense went cold as Jones and Lumbreraz combined for the only four points for Latexo.
Cadarian Wiley
Sporting a 28-point lead at the break, Grapeland slowed the game down in the third quarter. Ashford and Wiley both had four in the third while Lamb hit his third three of the game. Bryant and Driskell each added two as the Sandies opened up a 55-16 lead after three periods of play.
With most of the Grapeland starters on the bench for the fourth quarter, the Tigers showed they had a potent offense and dropped in 22 points. Hardy had 10 fourth quarter points to pace Latexo while Kaden Gonzalez had six and Jones had four. Lumbreraz added a basket to close out the Latexo fourth quarter scoring.
The Sandies fourth quarter points came from Lekerian Smith with eight and TJ Snell with one as Grapeland coasted to the 64-38 win.
On the game, the Tigers were led in scoring by Carson Hardy with 13 and Sam Jones with 10 points. Tyler Lumbreraz had seven and Kaden Gonzales added six. Malachi Reece chipped in a basket to close out the Latexo point production.
The Sandies were paced by Austin Driskell with 15 points while Cadarian Wiley had 12. BJ Lamb netted a trio of three-pointers for nine while Keizion Ashford and Lekerian Smith both had eight. Deco Bryant knocked down five, both Riley Murchison and Cooper Ward hit from behind the arc while TJ Snell converted one of two from the line to close out the Grapeland scoring.
The Sandies were back in action on Tuesday, Jan.7 as they took on the Alto Yellow Jackets in a non-district contest. As of press time, however, the final score was unavailable.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
