IRA — The Ira Bulldogs are looking for a fresh start against Dawson in a Class 1A bi-district playoff basketball game at Follis Gym in Lamesa at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Ira earned the No. 3 seed for District 12-1A with two wins over Westbrook. The Bulldogs lost twice to District 12-1A champion Borden County and runner-up Hermleigh during the regular season.
“We won nine of the last 13 games and are coming on strong,” Ira head coach Todd Wall said. “I hope we continue to play better and play more basketball. We have been shooting well from the outside, which opens up the inside game. The effort has been good on defense. We set a goal of holding teams under 45 points and our district average is less than that.”
Wall, who coached at Dawson before taking the job at Ira, said Tuesday’s game is about the players on both teams, not him.
“I coached the (Dawson) seniors since the eighth grade and know them well,” Wall said. “It should help we played them already this season (a 43-37 loss at the Klondike Cougar Classic in December). This will be a playoff game and we want to win and continue our season.”
Wall will stay with the starting lineup of Ramiro Rios, Karson Valentine, Emanual Cabrera, Brayden Corley and Anthony Sosa. Nathan Goodwin will continue in the sixth man’s role.
“We must stay out of foul trouble,” Wall said. “Brayden is one of our best defensive players. Anthony is a good defensive player and one of our best athletes. Ramiro and Nathan must shoot well from the perimeter. Karson and Emanual must be productive on offense.”
Guards Austin De La Rosa and Matthew De La Rosa and post Jackson Napper lead Dawson’s attack.
“Napper is a good defensive player, who takes up a lot of space and makes it difficult to score inside,” Wall said. “They have two good guards, who can score. One of the keys to the game is we must make the shooters work hard for shots.”
Wall said the Bulldogs have an opportunity to win and move to the next round.
“We will be underdogs every game during the playoffs,” Wall said. “We need to play like we have nothing to lose. If we can do that, the sky is the limit.”
Tuesday’s winner will play Sierra Blanca in the area round.