by JASON GORDON
The Hays High boys basketball team could have easily decided the Sequin Tournament was a lost cause after a rough beginning last Friday.
It looks like this year’s Rebel hoopsters don’t have much quit in them, however.
After losing a heartbreaker to Lake Travis 52-58 to open the tournament in a game the Rebels were winning by six points with only three minutes left, Hays lost its second game of the day a short time later, falling to San Antonio East Central 74-62 despite 20 points from Hayden Cagle.
“That was a pretty rough day,” Hays head coach Dean McMullen said. “I think the guys really wanted to beat Lake Travis, because they’re Lake Travis. That was only our third game back with the football guys and we just didn’t do a good job executing down the stretch.”
The two losses knocked Hays down into the Bronze Bracket on Saturday.
First Hays beat host school Seguin 63-57 in overtime behind Jaren Rodriguez’ 19 points. Against the Matadors Travis Miller added two key blocks and Steven Jass added a 3-pointer to key the victory. Jass also assisted on the play of the game, a monstrous two-handed dunk by Cagle that helped put the game away in overtime.
The Rebels then moved onto the Bronze Bracket championship final against a talented Magnolia team.
Hays led the back-and-forth contest late, but Magnolia cut the gap to just two points with just over a minute to play. That’s when Caleb Kimbro hit Rodriguez with a home run pass that covered the length of the court. Rodriguez turned the layup into a three-point play after he was fouled in the process. Miller added a layup a few seconds later and Kimbro hit two free throws to seal the 69-65 victory.
“The guys really came back and fought hard Saturday,” McMullen said. “We only had 90 minutes in between both games both days, so they showed a lot of heart and desire. I like a fact that we seem to be getting better every game. It’s our goal to be playing at our very best once district starts.”
Cagle, who averaged 16 points and eight rebounds in Hays’ four games, was named All-Tournament.
“You would never believe Cagle is a sophomore when you look at the way he plays,” McMullen said. “Our guys have been getting him the ball down low and he’s been making very good decisions with the basketball.”
Hays is back in action Thursday at the Rebel Classic. The Rebs will take on St. Michael’s at 12:30 p.m., and Crockett at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be in Bales Gym.
