Area boys teams win

Things are starting to click for the Gonzales boys basketball team. After losing their first five games in District 28-3A play, the Apaches have won two league games in a row. The latest was a 68-53 victory over Pleasanton Friday at Gonzales High School. "We're starting to figure things out," Gonzales coach Jason Tucker said. "I'm proud of our guys for stepping up, especially in the second half. We just need to keep it up." Gonzales (4-22, 2-5 in 28-3A) led at the end of each quarter, but it wasn't until the fourth that the Apaches started to gain separation from Pleasanton. Gonzales led 36-33 after three quarters of play before outscoring the Eagles, 32-20, in the final eight minutes. Both teams struggled offensively in the first half as the Apaches led 8-5 at the end of the first quarter and 16-15 at halftime. Gonzales outscored Pleasanton, 20-18, in the third quarter to carry a 36-33 lead into the fourth. Cameron Smith led the Apaches with 15 points, while Darrance James had 12. Don Cartwright and Anthony Sullivan each scored 10 points, while Victor Melgar had 8 and Jared Smit scored 7 to go with a team-high eight assists. Gonzales visits Cuero at 7:30 p.m. today. Nixon-Smiley A trio of players scored in double figures as the Nixon-Smiley boys basketball team moved a step closer to clinching a playoff berth after picking up a 63-53 road win at Randolph Friday. Nixon-Smiley (22-3, 7-1 in 29-2A) needs either a win over Luling tonight or a Stockdale loss to Randolph tonight to clinch its first playoff berth since the 2005-06 season. The Mustangs jumped out to an 18-10 lead after one quarter of play, and led 33-27 at halftime. Nixon-Smiley led 48-41 at the end of the third quarter before closing out the game on a 15-12 spurt in the fourth.

Robbie Mejia led all scorers with 19 points. Damian Perez and Jaime Moreno had 18 and 16 points, respectively. The Mustangs' game against Luling is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. today at Nixon-Smiley High School. St. Paul A 21-5 third-quarter run allowed the St. Paul boys basketball team to hang on for a 57-43 victory at Clear Lake Christian Friday night. The Cardinals used that third-quarter explosion to turn a 26-19 halftime lead into a 47-24 advantage at the end of the third quarter. St. Paul (4-9, 3-3 in TAPPS District 8-2A) led 13-8 after one quarter of play before using a 13-11 second-quarter run to take a seven-point halftime lead. Leading 47-24 heading into the fourth quarter, the Cardinals made sure they held on despite being outscored 19-10 in the final eight minutes of play. Dakota Kresta led St. Paul with 15 points. Justin Natal and Austin Horne had 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Cardinals close out the regular season at 7 p.m. today when they host Houston Chinquipan. Next up for St. Paul will be the TAPPS 8-2A tournament, which starts Saturday at a time and site to be determined. Shiner Matt Pohler scored 25 points to lead the Shiner boys basketball team to a 65-37 victory over Yorktown Friday at Shiner High School. Shiner (11-7, 4-0 in District 28-A-Division I) outscored Yorktown, 29-20, in the second half. The Comanches held a slim 12-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, and led 26-17 at halftime. Shiner used a 20-12 third-quarter run to build a 46-29 lead heading into the fourth before outscoring the Wildcats, 19-8, in the final eight minutes of play. In addition to Pohler's game-high 25, Leo Baray had 13 points. Evel Jones also scored 9 points for the Comanches. Shiner visits Flatonia at 7:30 p.m. today.