Tigers start Canyon Reef Tournament 2-0, improve to 9-8

It was a successful day at the office for the Snyder Tigers boys’ basketball team Monday. The Tigers took down Abilene Cooper and Hereford on the first day of the Canyon Reef Basketball Tournament.
With the two wins, the Tigers (9-8) have won three of their last four games.
“Coming into this tournament, I knew it was going to be tough to get wins because of the teams here,” head coach Lee Scott said. “We just have to continue to play hard and finish the game and if we continue to do that, it will be tough for teams to beat us.”
The Tigers opened up tournament play against Abilene Cooper and dominated the first quarter. Snyder senior Teafale Lenard set the tone with a 3-pointer on the Tigers’ first possession. Abilene Cooper scored just six first quarter points, all by junior Noah Garcia.
Lenard connected on another 3-pointer en route to an eight-point quarter. Sophomore Eber Murillo, junior Zach Miller and senior Jayden Samaniego each scored two points and the Tigers took an early 14-6 lead.
The Cougars began the second quarter with a 5-0 run highlighted by a 3-pointer from senior Deshawn Mcdonald. Abilene Cooper’s run gave them a 16-15 lead after a 3-pointer from senior Daryck Shields, but the lead would not last long. Samaniego converted a 3-point play to reclaim the lead and the Tigers rode that momentum to close out the half. Lenard scored six straight points and put an exclamation mark on a 11-2 Snyder run with an alley-oop slam dunk after a pass from Samaniego. The Tigers led 30-20 at the half.
Coming out of the break, both offenses had no trouble finding the basket. The two teams combined for 36 third-quarter points. Murillo led the way with six points and Samaniego connected on a 3-pointer.
Garcia began to light it up for the Cougars, scoring eight points to power them to an 18-point quarter.
The Tigers held on to a 48-38 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Cougars’ offense fell silent in the fourth quarter. Abilene Cooper mustered just four points. Snyder’s Samaniego scored another five points and Lenard added four of his own. The Tigers won the game, 61-42.
Later in the day, the Tigers took on the Hereford Herd for the second time this season. Snyder defeated Hereford, 57-43 on Dec. 7 and Hereford sought revenge in round two.
The Tigers’ early offense continued to prove hard to stop. Lenard came out hot once again, scoring six first-quarter points. Samaniego made a 3-pointer en route to a five point first quarter and the Tigers led, 15-12 heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Tigers started quietly before a pair of 3-pointers from junior Michael Jaramillo kick-started the offense. Lenard added nine points, Miller made both of his free throw attempts and the Tigers outscored Hereford, 7-3 over the last two minutes of the half to take a 32-25 lead heading into the half.
In the third quarter, the Snyder defense shined once again. Hereford’s only points came on a 3-pointer from junior Blake Walker. The Tigers outscored Hereford, 16-3 to take a commanding 48-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Jaramillo connected on his third 3-pointer and Murillo scored six points in the third quarter for the second straight game.
The tables turned in the final frame, though. Hereford limited the Tigers to six points and scored 15 points. That late run was not enough to make up for the 20-point deficit they faced heading into the fourth quarter, though, and the Tigers held on to win, 54-43.
Scott said after the wins that his team needs to learn to close out games in order to beat top tier teams.
“We played alright,” he said following the win over Hereford. “We did well for three quarters and then we relaxed in the fourth quarter and we can’t do that because that could develop into bad habits. Overall, I am pleased. We are 2-0 in our own tournament against some tough teams. We have two tough games tomorrow.”
The Tigers are one of the three teams in the tournament who finished Day One undefeated. Lubbock Estacado and Wichita Falls Rider went 2-0 as well.
Snyder faced Rider at 9 a.m. today and will face Estacado at 3 p.m. at The Coliseum today as it closes out the tournament.
“We are going to have to play really good defense and we are going to have to handle pressure,” Scott said about Tuesday’s games. “We can’t fold, we can’t panic. We have to make sure that we are tough, we have to make sure we make good passes and we can’t give up east fast-break buckets.”
Snyder scorers vs. Abilene Cooper: Teafale Lenard, 21 points; Jayden Samaniego, 18 points; Zach Miller, 9 points; Eber Murillo, 8 points; Sammy Sosa, 3 points; Corey Landin, 2 points.
Abilene Cooper scorers: Noah Garcia, 17 points; Deshawn McDonald, 6 points; Ashton Curtis, 5 points; Jaelyn Rivera, 5 points; Jalen Cherry, 3 points; Colin Reed, 2 points.
Snyder scorers vs. Hereford: Teafale Lenard, 21 points; Jayden Samaniego, 10 points; Michael Jaramillo, 9 points; Eber Murillo, 6 points; Zach Miller, 6 points; Yajat Bhakta, 2 points.
Hereford scorers: Blake Walker, 13 points; Chris Ball, 8 points; Noah Brown, 7 points; Kidron Flickinger, 4 points; Ashton Gonzales, 4 points; Marco Lucas, 3 points; Aiden Arias, 3 points.