No. 15 Lubbock Estacado discovered the Snyder Tigers can’t be taken for granted.
The Tigers, who led during the first half, opened District 2-4A play by falling to the Matadors 67-53 at Tiger Gym Friday.
At one point, Snyder’s largest deficit was seven points, but Estacado was able to build a double-digit lead midway through the fourth quarter.
“The players gave it their all and that’s all I can ask them to do,” head coach Lee Scott said. “Estacado is a good team. We put them in situations that they had not been in for a long time. Some things didn’t go our way. We fell short, but we must move forward and get ready to play at Big Spring Tuesday.”
Dralon Jackson scored 24 points to lead the Tigers. Abram Smith added 10 points.
Christian Benning led the Matadors with 22 points while Ritake Smith had 13 points.
“Estacado had taller and athletic players, but we kept battling hard,” Scott said. “A team like Estacado has the advantage with those types of players.”
The Matadors (14-5, 1-0) scored the game’s first five points. Jackson answered by making two free throws and a 3-pointer to tie the game at 5-5.
Jackson gave the Tigers (17-4, 0-1) their first lead on a 3-pointer with 3:34 left in the quarter. Smith turned a steal into a breakaway layup to increase the lead to 12-7.
Estacado tied the game at 13-13 before Benning’s 3-pointer put the Matadors ahead, 16-13. Jackson scored before the end of the quarter, pulling Snyder to within 16-15.
The Tigers regained the lead early in the second quarter on Smith’s field goal. The lead changed hands seven times and the game was tied three times until late in the first half.
A Benning field goal gave Estacado a 26-24 lead. Rodrigo Rodriguez’ free throw kept Snyder close, but the Matadors outscored the Tigers 6-1 to take a 32-25 lead.
The Tigers finished the first half by scoring five of the final seven points to cut the deficit to 34-30 at halftime.
Estacado never trailed again and started the third quarter with a 36-30 lead. The Tigers pulled to within three points on two different occasions, but a 7-2 Estacado lead increased the lead to 45-37.
However, Snyder was able to cut the lead to 46-42 heading into the fourth quarter.
Estacado increased the lead to nine points, but Rodriguez hit a 3-pointer to pull Snyder to within 51-45.
The Matadors were able to build a 10-point lead and outscored the Tigers 10-6 over the final three minutes.
“We hung in there and held the lead during the first half,” Scott said. “We were in foul trouble during the fourth quarter. We didn’t shoot free throws well (15-of-33). We need to work on improving that and continue to improve in other areas.”
In other district games, Levelland defeated Big Spring 77-40 and Lamesa defeated Sweetwater, 74-70.
Scott liked his team’s performance and hopes for a similar effort at Big Spring Tuesday.
“I told the players after the game, playing this way against Estacado should get us ready to go against every team in the district,” he said. “We proved that we can play against a good team.”
Snyder lost the JV game, 59-25. No individual scoring was available.
The JV game at Big Spring will start at 5 p.m., followed by the freshman game at 6:15 p.m.. The varsity is scheduled to play at 8 p.m.
Estacado 16 18 12 21—67
Snyder 15 15 12 11—53
Estacado scorers — Christian Benning 22, Ritake Smith 13, Keeshun Cobbs 9, Dajorian Essix 7, Larry Morrison 6, Jordan Sherman 4, Zach Harris 4, Da’Kevon Blaylock 2.
Snyder scorers — Dralon Jackson 24, Abram Smith 10, Rodrigo Rodriguez 7, Chris Dickinson 6, Dillon Scott 3, Chris Depaz 3.