County boys teams prevail

Things came together for the Gonzales boys basketball team Tuesday night.

The Apaches ran out to an 18-6 lead after one quarter of play and never looked back as they held on for a 51-45 victory over Yoakum Tuesday at Yoakum. The win gave Gonzales (3-17, 1-4 in District 28-3A) its first league win.

After building a 12-point lead at the end of the first quarter, the Apaches were outscored, 12-9, in the second quarter as they led 27-18 at halftime. The Bulldogs also outscored Gonzales in the third (12-11) and fourth (15-13) quarters, but it wasn’t enough as the Apaches held on for the victory.

Don Cartwright led Gonzales with 12 points. Tanner Davis scored 9, while Chris Garcia had 8 and Cameron Smith posted 7.

The Apaches close out the first half of 28-3A play tonight when they host Poteet. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30.

Nixon-Smiley

Four different players scored in double figures as the Nixon-Smiley boys basketball team ran past Marion, 56-27, Tuesday at Nixon-Smiley High School. The teams met in the Poteet Tournament championship with the Bulldogs pulling off a 37-28 win.

But on Tuesday, Nixon-Smiley (20-3, 5-1 in District 29-2A) made sure it was on the ball for the district contest. The Mustangs took a 10-5 lead after one quarter of play before outscoring Marion, 18-14, in the second quarter to take a 28-19 lead at halftime.

Nixon-Smiley went into defense mode in the second half as the Mustangs limited the Bulldogs to 8 points in the final two quarters of play. Nixon-Smiley outscored Marion, 17-3, in the third quarter and 11-5 in the fourth.

Seth Barrow and Jaime Moreno shared the scoring lead with 14 points each — combining to outscore the Bulldogs. The Mustangs also received 12 points from Damian Perez and 11 from Matt Finch.

Nixon-Smiley will be off tonight, but will return to the court Tuesday to host Stockdale. Tipoff between the Mustangs and Brahmas will take place at 8 p.m.

Waelder

On Tuesday, the Waelder boys basketball team proved that the best team — not the best player — usually gets the win. Austwell-Tivoli’s Garek Duenz scored a game-high 34 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats prevailed, 74-55, Tuesday at Waelder High School.

Waelder (11-13, 2-0 in District 30-A-Division II) enjoyed a 17-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 30-26 halftime lead. The Wildcats took off in the third quarter as they outscored the Sharks, 24-12, to build a 54-38 lead at the end of the period.

Deondre Fields and Jeremy Gonzales both scored 6 points in the third quarter, while Tiburcio Blanton added 5 in the period. Waelder held off a furious comeback attempt by Austwell-Tivoli by hitting 12 free throws down the stretch.

Clay Orona scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. Blanton and Orona shared the scoring lead for the Wildcats as they both had 21 points.

Jeremy Gonzales scored 13 points, while Cody Orona had 10. Fields scored 7, and Joseph McCook had 2.

Waelder visits Moulton at 7:15 p.m. today.

St. Paul

After running out to a 34-30 halftime lead, the St. Paul boys basketball team could only muster 10 points in the final 16 minutes of play as the Cardinals suffered a 54-44 setback at the hands of Houston Southwest Christian Tuesday at St. Paul Catholic School.

St. Paul (2-9, 1-3 in TAPPS District 8-2A) ran with Southwest in the first two quarters of play. The Cardinals led 20-19 after one quarter of play and 34-30 at halftime.

Justin Natal hit a quartet of 3-pointers in the first quarter, while Dakota Kresta scored 8 in the second to help St. Paul achieve its lead at the break. The third quarter, however, belonged to Southwest as it outscored the Cardinals, 15-7, to seize a 45-41 lead heading into the fourth.

Southwest resorted to stall-ball in the final eight minutes of play to keep St. Paul at bay. The Cardinals were outscored, 9-3, in the fourth quarter.

Natal led St. Paul with 12 points, while Kresta had 11. Cole Hybner also scored 8 points.

St. Paul visits Brazosport Christian at 7:30 p.m. today.