By Spencer Spilman.
The Hays Rebels hosted the Champion Chargers in a hard-fought game at Bales gym Tuesday night. The Rebels led from start to finish and pulled away in the second half to win 45-33.
It was clear from the start the Chargers planned to slow down the tempo of the game in an attempt to throw the Rebels off. Hays coach Robert Lucero said his team handled the change of pace very well.
“We had to get a lot out of every possession and I thought the guys, especially in the second half, did a good job of moving the ball and finding the open man,” said Lucero.
One of those open men was Hayden Cagle, who worked the middle of the zone and down low on the post. The Rebels found Cagle in the middle and he did the rest, finishing with a team high 13 points. Cagle was a force on the boards for the Rebels, and although Hays appeared to be outsized by the height of the Champion, still out-rebounded them.
“It’s always good to get rebounds and show your team you are hustling, because then they see that and they hustle too,” said Cagle.
A majority of points for Champion came from guard Quentin Lenard, who finished with 20 of the teams 33 points. Hays was more balanced on offense; Jacob Rodriguez had 11 points while Heath Agnew added 10 points of his own. Despite the balance in scoring, they found themselves only up two at halftime, 18-16.
The Rebels jumped out to a quick 10 point lead behind the hot shooting hand of Rodriguez and the patience of guard Stephen Ayala. Ayala found Rodriguez for several big three pointers and helped give the Rebels a double digit lead. “Me and Jacob have been playing basketball together since about fifth grade, so we have good connection and we just know where each other is on the court,” said Ayala. A big part of the Rebels’ third quarter run was the defense on and off the ball. Hays held the Chargers to just five points in the quarter while scoring 16 of their own to give them a 34-21 lead at the end of three.
The poise of Rodriguez and Ayala in the fourth is what really helped seal the win for the Rebels. Ayala hit four straight clutch free throws, while he and Rodriguez passed the ball around, finding the open man and running the clock. A few late buckets for Champion were too little, too late, and Hays wrapped it up 45-33.
