SPORTS
Nocona boys lose heartbreaker 52-49; Mustangs end season for the Indians
Needing to win one more game to get into the playoffs, the Nocona Indians fell just short on Friday in a play-in game against City View.
Despite beating them at home the previous week, the Indians lost a tight game to the Mustangs 52-49.
City View came out and made two quick three-pointers to go up 6-0. Nocona responded by shutting them down for the four minutes while they slowly took a narrow 7-6 lead.
The Indians starting post player Rowdy Waters picked up two quick fouls early on and was forced to sit as both teams combined for nine fouls in the first quarter alone.
The teams traded baskets for the final three minutes as the first quarter was tied at 11-11. Without Waters, Nocona was forced to play small as Jason Sparkman exploited the Mustangs lack of muscle inside by scoring six points from the high post area.
The second quarter saw the Indians really start to separate themselves with good defense and good offensive execution. Despite starting point guard Hunter Fenoglio also going into foul trouble, Nocona was able to go up 22-13 midway through the quarter.
It was there when things flipped on their head as the Mustangs charged back, jumping passing lanes and scoring in transition while the Indians looked out of sync. City View was not only able to catch up, but take a narrow 23-22 lead into halftime.
In the final minute of the second quarter, disaster struck the Indians when back point guard Landry McCasland went down with a leg injury which was serious enough there was no question he would not return for the night. Nocona would have to go forward in the second half with one point guard who was one foul away from fouling out.
The third quarter started off slow offensively for both teams as neither team could get more than a one basket lead on the other. The final two and half minutes of the quarter saw both teams trade multiple three-pointers back-to-back to end the quarter in a flurry. The Mustangs held only a 36-34 lead as it was still anyone’s game heading into the fourth quarter.
The first half of the quarter did not go the way of the Indians. City View established its biggest lead of the game up 45-36 with 4:15 left to play. Things started to look hopeless as Fenoglio, who had played the entire second half up till then without picking up his fifth foul, fouled out with 3:55 to go.
With senior shooting guards Alex Diaz and Joan Gomez having to run the offense despite not having much experience, Nocona dug its heels in and fought for survival down 47-40.
Water nailed a three-pointer to cut the lead to 47-43. After a stop, Sparkman was able to put in an offensive rebound while getting fouled to cut the lead to 47-45. Sparkman missed the free throw, but Gomez got the offensive rebound and was able to score off of it to tie the game up 47-47 with two minutes to play.
City View was able draw free throws and made both to go up 49-47. Sparkman made another mid-range jump shot from the top of the key to make it 49-49. The Mustangs were in the bonus and drew more free throws. They made one of two to go up 50-49 with 1:11 left to play.
The Indians ran their offense and looked like they might hold it for the final shot, but were fouled and forced to shoot free throws for a one-and-one. They missed it and City View got the ball back. Nocona was forced to foul to send them to the free throw line, but Diaz, one of the team’s best shooters, had fouled out.
The Mustangs were able to make both clutch free throws to go up by three with 20 seconds left. The Indians tried to set up a look, but Coach Colby Schniederjan did not like where it was headed and called a timeout with a few seconds left to set up a final shot.
The play worked and Nocona player got a good look at a three-pointer from the corner that would have tied the game. Unfortunately, the ball did not go in. City View won 52-49.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians picked up dominant wins against Chico in their series against the Dragons last week.
The Indians won both games 11-0 by run-rule after five innings to get their first district wins of the season.
Nocona was coming off losing both games against Lindsay the previous week in its first district series and bounced back in a big way.
In the first game at home last week, the Indians scored six runs in the first inning and five in the third inning which proved to be all the offense they needed.
Kutter Cabrera led the team with three RBIs while Miller Jentry was second with two RBIs. The team finished with nine hits and drew eight walks.
On the mound, Walker Murphey pitched a shut out while striking out seven and allowing three hits. Defensively, the team committed one fielding error.
The second game saw Nocona score all of its runs in the first three innings, highlighted by scoring six runs in the second inning.
Murphey hit a three-run home run to lead the team while Brody Langford and Landon Fatheree each had two RBIs.
On the mound RJ Walker had a big day, throwing a perfect four innings which means he did not allow a hit or walk anyone. He also struck out eight batters, which put him over 100 career strikeouts in high school. The defense committed no fielding errors.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers lost their series against Bryson last week.
The first game was a close 3-0 loss, but the second game was 11-0, done after four and half innings due to run-rule.
The Panthers were coming off close losses to Perrin-Whitt from the previous week. They were hoping they could turn their fortune around playing another 1A program.
Unfortunately in the first game, the Cowboys got off to a good start, scoring three runs in the first inning, with two coming with two outs due to an error and a dropped third strike.
Saint Jo’s pitching and defense tightened up after that to not allow another run in the final six innings. Unfortunately, the Panthers had only two hits and four base runners all game as they lost the close game 3-0.
Charlie Evans and Rylan Forrest had the only two hits for Saint Jo in the game as the team struck out 18 times. Trent Gaston ended the game allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out five batters and walking two in six innings of work. The defense committed five fielding errors.
Unfortunately, things did not go as well several days later in game two. Bryson scored three runs in both the first and second innings before scoring five runs in the third inning. Saint Jo was not able to get a hit and drew two walks in the game.
The Panther defense committed six fielding errors which led to only three of the 11 runs given up were earned by the pitching staff who gave up five hits, walked six and hit four batters.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles played Perrin-Whitt last week in a series.
The Pirates won the first game 11-1 by run-rule and the second game score was not updated on Game Changer.
The Eagles were coming off one-sided losses to Bryson the previous week in their first district series and was hoping to play better.
Bellevue did get out to an early lead in the first inning. River Trail hit an RBI single in the top of the first inning to go up 1-0, which proved to be the highlight of the game.
Perrin-Whitt scored three runs in the first inning, one in the second inning, two in the fourth inning and five in the fifth inning to win 11-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers picked up a high-scoring win against Perrin-Whitt on Thursday to get their second straight district win and some revenge.
The Lady Panthers won 35-20 against the Lady Pirates, nearly equaling the total when both programs played on the gridiron during the fall.
Saint Jo was coming off a big win the previous week against Bryson, but had lost the last time it played Perrin-Whitt by 10 runs in another high-scoring game.
The Lady Panthers did not start the game off well, allowing 11 runs in the top of the first inning before they had even gotten a chance to bat yet.
Most teams would crumble, but Saint Jo fought back slowly at first before picking things up.
The Lady Panthers scored three runs in the first inning to cut the lead to 11-3.
Perrin-Whitt added four more runs in the second inning to go up 15-3, which in most games is insurmountable.
Saint Jo answered with eight runs in the bottom of the second inning, cutting the lead to 15-11.
The Lady Pirates scored five runs in the third inning and went up by nine runs 20-11. Then the Lady Panthers had a monster offensive inning that went on for awhile.
Saint Jo scored 18 runs in the third inning, not only getting its first lead, but going up by nearly double-digits 29-20.
The Lady Panthers had the momentum and it showed on defense in the fourth inning, allowing no runs for the first time all game by either team.
Saint Jo then went for the kill, scoring six runs to end the game early due to run-rule with the final score being 35-20.
Mercedes Diaz led the team with seven RBIs as she hit one of the two home runs for the Lady Panthers, with the other going to Lily Cook. Maxey Johnson was right behind with six RBIs and Kamron Skidmore had four.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians started the second round of district with a dominant win against Era on Monday.
The Lady Indians won 16-0 after four innings, winning by run-rule against the Lady Hornets.
Nocona went 3-2 in the first round of district, only losing to big dogs Lindsay and Muenster. The first time the Lady Indians had played Era, it had been a close 5-2 win for Nocona so the team knew it had to come to play.
The Lady Indians started off well, scoring five runs in the first inning to take the early lead. Nocona added three runs during the next two innings to go up 8-0 as the Lady Indian defense shut down the Lady Hornets.
Nocona then went for the kill, scoring eight runs in the fourth inning to end the game early, winning 16-0.
Reagan Phipps and Tinley Cable each had home runs. Phipps had a team high three RBIs while Cable, Heidi Atteberry and Gwyndelyn Forsyth each finished with two RBIs.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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