By Spencer Spilman
The battle for Kyle took place Tuesday night with the Hays Rebels hosting the Lehman Lobos.
While the Lobos led for much of the game, a late Rebel surge earned Hays a 58-50 win in front of a loud home crowd at Bales Gym.
In typical Hays versus Lehman fashion, the game was back and forth from the start.
Hays head coach Sam Lunz was relieved when the game was over.
“Unfortunately for my health, we have been in a lot of these close games, but fortunately for the kids, they are confident that they can win just about any game in the fourth quarter,” Lunz said.
Hays got off to a good start and led 15-10 after the first quarter.
The Lobos fought back and outscored the Rebels 20-14 in the second quarter thanks to Jamiah Windom.
Windom got to the free-throw line and found open holes to the lane, which led to easy layups. Robert Salinas came off the bench to add a spark for the Lehman offense.
“We just looked for the gaps in the defense and tried to get to the basket,” said Windom.
Lehman went into halftime with a 30-29.
Hays’ offense started hitting shots and their defensive pressure forced Lehman into bad passes and turnovers. The crowd went wild when Charles Bohannon received the ball after a steal and threw down a two-handed slam dunk.
Bohannon credited the defense in the second half.
“We knew they (Lehman) couldn’t handle our pressure, so we just pressured their ball-handlers and got turnovers,” he said.
Lehman went into the fourth quarter with a one point lead when Bohannon and junior Jake Krafka came alive.
But it was Krafka that hit a momentum changing four-point play late in the fourth.
The Lobos tried to keep the game close with Windom and Ivan Melendez leading the offense. However, the Rebels’ pressure was just too much for the Lobos to overcome.
Lehman Coach Thomas Acker was proud of the way his team played.
“I love my guys, they really battled,” Acker said. “The people that read the paper will see an eight point game, but this was a one possession game in my opinion.”
Hays plays at Anderson on Friday and hosts Austin on Jan. 27. Lehman host Lake Travis Friday, and travels to play at Del Valle.
