Jul 30, 2010
Friendswood roundballers still perfect in league play
January 11, 2010
FRIENDSWOOD — While the district season is still young - the Friendswood Mustangs (16-4 3-0) are sitting in a tie atop the league leaderboard with La Marque (18-1, 3-0). Both teams are ranked among the top 10 in the Houston area.
The two teams will have their first district showdown on Friday, January 15 when the Cougars invade the Walter Wilson Fieldhouse at 7:30 p.m. with the league lead on the line.
The Mustangs opened up District 24-4A action with a solid 47-30 win over Santa Fe. However - the 40-33 win over Pearland Dawson presented more of a challenge.
Dawson came out with a lot of intensity to take a 12-7 first quarter lead. After trailing 12-4, Kevin Wilson hit a 3-pointer to close the gap leading into the second period.
The Eagles continued to stay slightly ahead outscoring Friendswood 11-10 for a 23-17 halftime advantage.
Anthony Miles had the hot hand for Dawson hitting a pair of 3-pointers, a field goal, and two free throws for 10 first half points while Friendswood had six players get in the scoring column led by Nolan Harvey with two driving layups. The Mustangs were only 3-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Things began to come unraveled for the Eagles in the second half as Friendswood took control of the game with a 16-8 third quarter to take a 33-31 lead into the final eight minutes of play.
Mark Garza had four points while Conner Neuman added a 3-pointer and Wilson hit his second trey at the buzzer.
Both teams were as cold as the weather outside, but it would be Friendswood taking advantage of several turnovers by the Eagles down the stretch that gave the Mustangs a 7-2 edge in the fourth quarter.
Garza scored a field goal and was 2-of-3 from the free throw line to finish as the top scorer for the Mustangs with 12 points.
Miles had a game-high 17 points for Dawson, but failed to get in the scoring action in the final frame as the Eagles scored only one basket. With 5:22 left in the game, Michael Forte hit a field goal to tie up the game at 33-33, but Dawson couldn't find their scoring touch for the remainder of the contest.
Friendswood 64 - Manvel 48Byron Randle scored 16 points while Conner Neuman added 14 and Jackson Griffon tossed in 13 to lead the Mustangs to a 64-48 win over Manvel (14-10, 1-2).
After leading only 8-6 at the end of the first quarter, Friendswood went on a 21-13 run in the second period for a 29-19 hafltime lead.
The Mustangs doubled the score 18-9 in the third quarter for a 39-22 advantage before both teams heated up on offense with Manvel taking the final period 20-17, but it wasn't enough down the stretch.
Friendswood will host Texas City on Tuesday, January 19 at 7:30 p.m.