The 1-0 Lehman Lobo basketball team hosted the 0-1 Dripping Springs Tigers Tuesday night in a game that went down to the wire. Dripping Springs
The Lehman Lobos came out of the game firing early, which is exactly what Head Coach Steve Pinchback wants from his team.
“Our guys shoot a lot of shots,” Pinchback said. “What you saw today is what we do. We get after it.”
That aggressive play style showed in the first half. Senior Marcus Cantu and Juniors Zackary Harris and Isaiah Gonzales lit it up from three early and the Lobos finished the first quarter with a 14 to 12 lead over the Tigers.
The Tigers fought back in the second quarter. Senior Tyler Smith scored five points of his own in the first, and fellow senior Nick Statz added three of his own. The Tigers held a lead going into the last few minutes of the half. Cantu of the Lobos fired back however. Following a two pointer from Senior Cameron Jones, Cantu nailed a corner three as the half time buzzer rang to give his team a 33-28 lead going into the half. The lobos had all the momentum.
Coming out of the half, Statz took over the game. The Tigers center scored ten of his 19 total points in the third quarter, including some emphatic dunks. Statz and his squad held the Lobos to just five points in the third quarter and took a commanding 47 to 38 lead going into the final quarter.
Following some back and forth minutes, the Lobos faced a ten-point deficit with just over two minutes left in the game. Seniors Cameron Jones and Jarek Salinas began to connect on threes, and the Lobos got within four points with just under a minute left in the game. Their comeback bid would fall short however, and Dripping Springs would win the close game 62 to 57.
Lehman were led by Salinas with 12 points, two steals, and two assists. Jones finished with nine points and seven assists. Marcos Cantu added nine points and Zackary Harris recorded eight.
Head Coach Steve Pinchback felt his team battled hard and came away with more positives than negatives.
“That’s how you play the game. Give everything you’ve got for your team,” Pinchback said. “When you play like that, you are going to have success.”
The Lobos will host the San Marcos Rattlers Friday at 7 pm.
