Wildcats hold off Flatonia

FLATONIA – A win is a win, and a loss is – a loss.

Although the Waelder boys basketball team struggled at times on Thursday, Wildcats’ coach David President was happy to come away with a victory. Waelder (7-12) held on for dear life as the Wildcats put together a pair of defensive stops to claim a 50-47 win over Flatonia Thursday at Flatonia High School.

“We’ll take a win any way we can get it, but we have got to play better basketball,” President said. “We’re far from where we need to be. I want to see us play better basketball.”

Waelder held on to a 48-47 lead with 30 seconds left as Flatonia drove toward the basket for the go-ahead score. But Wildcats’ guard Tiburcio Blanton stepped in front of a cross-court pass for the steal and took off toward the basket where he was fouled before hitting both ends of the double bonus to put his team up, 50-47, with 9.8 seconds left to play.

“I saw the play coming,” Blanton said. “I stepped in front of the pass, stole the ball and went for the layup. I knew I would either make the layup or get fouled.”

Following Blanton’s free throws, the Bulldogs dribbled past the half-court line and called timeout with 4.3 seconds remaining. During the timeout, President went over what was necessary for his team to walk away with a victory.

“We knew we had to “D” up and not bail them out with a foul or give up anything easy,” Waelder forward Joseph McCook said.

The Wildcats did just that as Flatonia’s game-tying 3-point shot fell off the mark as the buzzer sounded. It was Waelder’s second win over its Interstate 10 rival this season as the Wildcats also defeated the Bulldogs, 64-46, last month in Waelder.

The start of the game was fairly even as Flatonia enjoyed a 13-12 lead after one quarter of play. Deondrae Fields had 6 points in the opening period.

The Bulldogs continued to stymie Waelder defensively in the second quarter as they limited the Wildcats to just 8 points during a 13-8 run in the period. Flatonia led 26-20 at halftime.

Waelder came back in the third quarter. Clay Orona sparked the Wildcats with 7 points during a 15-4 run in the period to give his team a 35-30 lead at the end of the third.

Fields scored 6 points during a 9-3 run to open the fourth quarter and increase the Waelder lead to 44-33 with less than five minutes remaining in the contest. But the Bulldogs used a 14-4 spurt to pull within one, 48-47, with 1:32 left to play.

Fields led the Wildcats with 16 points, while Blanton had 11. Orona and McCook had 7 and 6 points, respectively.

“Our rivalry with Flatonia is very personal,” Fields said. “They’re right up the road from us. We played with energy and intensity at the end. We need to keep doing that. We need to play hard and deliver the first punch.”

Waelder visits Yoakum at 6 p.m. today in its final nondistrict tuneup. The Wildcats host Nordheim in the District 31-A-Division II opener at 7:15 p.m. Friday.

Austin Waldorf 68, St. Paul 46

SHINER – A trio of double-doubles were not enough for the Cardinals as Waldorf used a 21-2 fourth-quarter run to run away with a 68-46 victory over St. Paul Friday at St. Paul Catholic School. Dylan Barton (11 points, 15 rebounds), Dakota Kresta (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Marco Ynclan (10 points, 12 rebounds) all had double-doubles for the Cardinals.

St. Paul (2-4, 1-1 in TAPPS District 5-2A) won the tipoff and Kresta dribbled to the basket for a layup just seven seconds into the contest.

But that would be the Cardinals’ only lead of the contest as Waldorf answered with a 3-pointer on the other end to take the lead for good, 3-2.

Waldorf led 28-14 after one quarter of play. St. Paul outscored Waldorf, 11-5, in the second quarter to pull within eight, 33-25, at the half.

The Cardinals continued to chip away at Waldorf’s lead as they used a 17-14 third-quarter run to pull within five, 47-42, after three quarters of play. Barton and Kresta both had 5 points in the third, while Ynclan had 4 in the period.

Ynclan’s layup early in the fourth quarter cut the Waldorf lead to three, 47-44. But not only would St. Paul not get any closer, the Cardinals scored just two more points the rest of the way as Waldorf finished the game on a 21-2 spurt.

St. Paul hosts New Braunfels Christian at 7 p.m. today.

Falls City 67, Shiner 38

An early lead was soon forgotten Friday night as Falls City ran past Shiner, 67-38, at Falls City High School. The Comanches led 7-0 early in the first quarter before the Beavers scored 22 unanswered points to seize a 22-7 lead after one quarter of play.

The onslaught continued in the second quarter as Falls City used a 16-8 run in the period to build a 38-15 halftime lead. Shiner (1-3) outscored the Beavers, 15-9, in the third quarter, but the Comanches could not get any closer as Falls City closed out the game on a 20-8 run in the fourth.

Kris Patek led Shiner with 11 points. Rigo Baray and Justin Stovall both had 5.

The Comanches host Victoria St. Joseph at 5 p.m. today.