It took the Brownfield Cubs two and a half quarters to really get in the groove of playing basketball, but when they did, they proved that they are a force to be reckoned with after their Bi-District Championship win over Kermit 86-49.

Jaden Martinez makes a jump shot

The game was a tale of two halves. In the first half of the game, specifically the 2nd period, it became a turnover fest for the Cubs. In the 1st period the Cubs got on the board first with a Jaden Martinez put-back shot for 2 points and then Kyle Suarez’s layup shot. Of course this was after the first whistle that was blown in the game when the officials called a charge on Suarez. Kermit was able to get on the board with 2 points . After Kermit’s points Jaden got a short breakaway and a quick 2 point layup. Another turnover for Kermit and the ball was passed to Nikko Vela who got the first 3-pointer of the night. At the 5:15 mark, Suarez was fouled and he put two points on the board from the foul line. The Cubs led at this point 11-2. However Kermit took the ball down court and placed two more points on the board and the Cubs had back-to-back turnovers which Kermit took advantage of and score a bucket and a 3-pointer. Pete Marroquin saw fit to match that 3-pointer with one of his own. Kermit got the ball down court and scored two, then the Cubs turned the ball over. Kermit was fouled and went to the line making the score 14-13 in Cubs favor. However, Deion Blackwell added three more points for the Cubs. Kermit got two more on their next possession. Suarez would be sent to line again and put both buckets in. After another turnover by Kermit, Suarez would bust a 3-pointer. Zarius Garcia and Jeremiah Tealer added to the score with both having two points each. The Cubs outscored Kermit 24-17.

Deion Blackwell takes a shot

The second period was not a huge scoring period for the Cubs, plus they were out scored 16-12. At the beginning, Tealer went to the foul line and dropped one. Back on offense Kermit put up three and then got the ball back on another Cub turnover adding two more to the board. Coach McPherson called a timeout at the 5:42 mark, after the timeout J.C. Carrillo kept the Cubs from going down. Carrillo hit back-to-back 3-pointers plus a Vela 2-pointer in between. The Cubs led at the 5:00 mark 33-25. Kermit made a small 4-0 run, but Jaden got two inside the paint. The Cubs forced a turnover on Kermit and Tealer went to score, but was fouled. Tealer dropped one bucket and Kermit would also force a turnover and get four points out of the deal. The Cubs led at halftime 36-33.

In the second half ,things changed for the Cubs. Their defense began to work and stifled Kermit. The Cubs struck first on a jump shot from Vela, then the Cubs’ defense forced several turnovers and Marroquin had several rebounds to help lead the charge on a short 6-0 scoring run. Toward the bottom of the 3rd period, the ball came loose and both teams scrambled to get control, however after a couple of players from Kermit landed on Marroquin, the officials stopped the game for a moment to give three players from Kermit technical fouls. Coach McPherson sent Jaden to the line for foul shots and he put down three. The Cubs would end up outscoring Kermit 19-6 ending the 3rd period 55-39, Cubs ahead. The 4th period would become a score fest for Brownfield as their defense continued to breakdown Kermit and use the turnovers to score points. The Cubs outscored Kermit 31-10 in the fourth, winning 86-49.

Coach McPherson said, “We had to adjust… the officiating was a little bit different than what we’ve had. There was a little bit of pushing and shoving… on both ways. It took us two and a half quarters to adjust to that.” Speaking about the defense, Coach McPherson told the team that they are going to come out a play and this will not be easy. “Luckily we made a bunch of big shots right there at the end of the third quarter and early part of the fourth quarter. They didn’t make many shots at that stage… I want to credit Deion (Blackwell) for some of that. The number 23 they have is a really good player… he is hard to guard, and Deion did a great job with staying in front of him for most of the game.” Coach McPherson said.

Nikko Vela dribbles down court

Moving on to the Area Round of the playoffs, Coach McPherson spoke about Abernathy. “We know they have a really good guard… a big guard. It’s a little easier to deal with these smaller guards than it is to deal with one as big as he is. They are big in general and I don’t think we will have as quite as rough as a game.” said Coach McPherson. He also talked about what to fix saying, “We’ve gotta rebound… they play physical and that’s what we are going to have to do is be physical without getting into foul trouble. We are going to look to push it and I hope to not have to slow it down.” The Cubs will take on Abernathy tomorrow evening, Wednesday Feb. 24, 2021 at Lubbock Coronado High School with a 6 p.m. tipoff.

The Cubs had three players in double digits with Jaden Martinez was leading the way 17 points, followed by Nikko Vela with 14 points, and Kyle Suarez with 13 points.

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