Tigers Claw Past Cougars for Homecoming Win
Latexo 34 Leon 27
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
LATEXO – In the back half of a double-header, the Latexo Tigers welcomed the Leon Cougars to town for a District 20-2A contest. It was Homecoming in Latexo and the atmosphere was electric inside the confines of the Tiger Den.
For both teams, it was the chance to pick up their first district win. Latexo came into the game with a league mark of 0-3 while Leon sat at 0-4.
The contest was close throughout as the Cougars led by one after the first quarter and by four at halftime. The second half, however, saw the Tigers come from behind, take the lead in the third quarter and then hold on for a 34-27 win.
Following the opening tip, both teams struggled from the floor. Aaron Graham put in a pair of baskets for the Cougars while Gannen Wise had two and Landon Martin converted one of two from the charity stripe to help Leon take a 7-6 lead after the first eight minutes of play.
The Tigers could have easily taken the lead but struggled from the free throw line. Fortunately, Ashton Hargrove knocked down a shot from behind the arc while Dakota Sherley made one from the paint. The only other Tiger to score in the first was Matt Cook who converted one of two from the line.
The second quarter saw Jose Carrizales get hot for the Cougars as he poured in seven points. Wise added another two while Noah Schrank chipped in a free throw as Leon opened up a 17-13 lead at the break.
Latexo continued to struggle from the field but Cam Baker with four and Matt Gonzales with three kept the Tigers from falling too far behind as the two teams went to their respective locker rooms for halftime.
Following the intermission, the Latexo squad began to feed off of the home crowd and seized the momentum. Sherley worked inside for seven while Hargrove found his stroke and dropped in a pair of shots from downtown to help the Tigers take a 26-20 lead after three periods were in the books.
The shooting woes that plagued Latexo in the first half switched to the Leon side of the court in the third quarter. The Cougars went ice cold from the field as the only points they could muster came on two free throws from Wise and one from Martin.
Try as they might, the Cougars were unable to overtake the Tigers in the final eight minutes. Carrizales, Graham and Wise all had two while Martin chipped in a free throw to close out the Leon fourth quarter scoring.
Hargrove and Sherley helped keep the Cougars at bay with three apiece in the fourth while Cook added a basket to help the Tigers pull out a 34-27 win.
On the game, Leon was led in scoring by Jose Carrizales with nine points and Gannen Wise with eight. Aaron Graham went for six, Landon Martin had three and Noah Schrank chipped in one to round out the Cougars’ point production.
The Tigers were led by Ashton Hargrove and Dakota Sherley with 12 points apiece. Cam Baker had four while Matt Cook and Matt Gonzales both had three to round out the Latexo scoring on the game.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
