-
Ira senior Karson Valentine (left) shot a lay-up during a win over Robet Lee earlier this season. Valentine scored 42 points over two game as the Bulldogs deafeated TLCA JV and Eldorado on Friday.
“Unstoppable” is a word that describes how the Ira Bulldogs are playing basketball as of late.
Wins over the Texas Leadership Charter Academy’s JV and Eldorado in the Sterling City Basketball Tournament on Friday are just the latest victories in a 10-game winning streak.
The stretch of victories dates back to Dec. 5 and includes a tournament championship, a buzzer-beating win and wins over Bronte, Water Valley and Grady.
In the win against TLCA, the Bulldogs took an early lead and never looked back. A 17-point first quarter powered by six points from senior Karson Valentine and four points each from seniors Nathan Goodwin and Matthew Brazil gave Ira the early 17-6 lead.
In the second quarter, Goodwin connected on a 3-pointer and Senior Brayden White scored four points of his own to help the Bulldogs’ offense score 15 points. TLCA began heating up in the second quarter too, scoring 10 points. Ira held the 32-16 lead at the half.
In the second half, the Bulldogs leaned on Valentine’s ability to drive the ball to the rim. He paced the bulldog offense with seven points in the third quarter and five in the fourth, three of which came on free throws. Valentine finished with 22 points scored to lead the Bulldogs to the 60-37 win.
White scored 10 points, Goodwin scored nine and Brazil eight.
Later, the Bulldogs took on Eldorado and came out strong defensively to start the game. The Eagles (8-3) managed just five points in the first quarter. Valentine, Goodwin, Brazil and sophomore Holden Rios all got their first points of the game and the Bulldogs’ grabbed the 10-5 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Eagles worked their way back into the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 9-8. Goodwin scored four points to lead the way for Ira, which was leading 18-14 at the half.
For the second straight game, Valentine stepped up to close out a win. In the third quarter, he scored nine points, most of which came from close range. Goodwin added three points and the Bulldogs put up a 16-point third quarter to distance themselves from the Eagles, 32-24, heading into the final quarter.
Valentine and Goodwin combined for nine points in the fourth quarter and while the Eagles did their best to mount the comeback by scoring 12 points, Ira maintained its lead and closed out its 10th straight victory.
Valentine was the leading scorer against Eldorado with 20 points. Goodwin finished with 13 points and White and Brazil each had four points.
Ira will take on Sterling City in the championship game later today.