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Hermleigh’s Matt Gonzales passes the basketball to a teammate during Tuesday’s game against Loraine. Gonzales scored 11 points in the 55-34 victory.
HERMLEIGH — The Hermleigh Cardinals finished the regular season with a 55-34 win over Loraine in a District 12-1A basketball game Tuesday.
The Cardinals (13-13, 7-3) started the game on a 9-0 run, but. Loraine cut the deficit to 9-6 by the end of the first quarter. Loraine opened the second quarter with a 6-2 run to take a 12-11 lead.
Hermleigh scored 10 unanswered points to take a 21-12 halftime lead. The Cardinals led 31-20 at the end of the third quarter.
“It’s difficult for players to play this kind of game when, win or lose, we are a No. 2 seed,” Hermleigh head coach Sam Winters said. “We talked about finishing the regular season right. We had been playing good basketball, winning seven of our last 10 games. We want to maintain that going into the playoffs.”
Eli Garza led Hermleigh with 13 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Matt Gonzales had 11 points. Chase Carr and Justin Wilson each added eight points.
“Eli had a great game,” Winters said. “Our inside game has become stronger. We did a good job of playing team basketball and getting into the right mindset going into the first round of the playoffs.”
Winters said seniors Carr, Dylan Sorrells and Garza have stepped up their play in recent games.
“Chase had a good game, too,” Winters said. “The seniors are starting to make giant contributions.”
Hermleigh will play Ackerly-Sands in a Class 1A bi-district playoff game at 7 p.m. Monday in Sterling City.
“We have a week to get ready for the playoffs,” Winters said. “The rest of the week will be busy with the girls’ team in the playoffs and rest of the school schedule. We match up well against Sands. We must continue to play the game at a high intensity.”
Loraine 6 6 9 14—34
Hermleigh 9 12 10 24—55
Loraine scorers — Sonny Benivamondez 13, Caden Walthall 8, Dakota Smith 5, Zackary Garcia 3, William Smith 2, Javon Walthall 2, Adam Nieto 1.
Hermleigh scorers — Eli Garza 13, Matt Gonzales 11, Chase Carr 8, Justin Wilson 8, Dylan Sorrells 7, Richie Clement 4.