Second-half surge carries Abilene High past Weatherford 72-29 in boys basketball play
Package a hot offense with a relentless full-court press in the second half, and it proved to be quite a party on senior night for the Abilene High Eagles, who blasted Weatherford 72-29 in a District 3-6A boys basketball game Tuesday at Eagle Gym.
“I’m really happy for our seniors and proud for our seniors to play well and be able to celebrate senior night with a win,” AHS coach Justin Reese said.
Joe Joe Escobedo, one of four seniors on the team, scored a game-high 17 points. Jalen McGee followed with 16, and Nathan Watts added 12 for the Eagles (23-7 overall, 10-1 district), who remained in sole possession of the district lead by a half-game over Hurst Bell.
Bell (22-3, 9-1) beat San Angelo Central 61-56 to stay tied with Eagles in the loss column. AHS, which clinched at least the No. 2 seed, wraps up district play at Euless Trinity on Friday, while Bell has two games remaining – at Haltom on Friday and home against Weatherford next Tuesday.
Trajan Lewis led the ’Roos (1-23, 0-10) with 10 points.
In the zone
Weatherford’s zone defense frustrated AHS much of the first half. Leading 17-10, the Eagles closed the half with a 6-3 run to gain some separation for a 24-13 halftime lead.
AHS put the game away quickly in the third quarter. Thanks to a combination of hot shooting and a grueling defense that forced turnover after turnover, all leading to 14 unanswered points and a 33-13 lead.
“We haven’t seen a lot of zone in district, so it took us a little while to find our rhythm,” Reese said. “We missed some good looks early that we usually make. I tried to stay positive with the guys at halftime, (telling them) ‘Those are going to fall.’ Once they did, it got our momentum and energy going in the third quarter.”
After hitting just one 3-point goal in the first half, by Jackson Stevens late in the second quarter, the Eagles hit three in the third quarter and finished with six.
Even after the game was well in hand, the Eagles never stopped chasing the ball on defense from one end of the court to the other, persistently hounding a tired and beaten Weatherford team.
“Give our kids credit. They take pride in their defense,” Reese said. “They know the reason we’re where we’re at is, sometimes the shots will fall, sometimes they won’t, but when you guard hard for 32 minutes, you always have a chance. Our kids have bought into that, and they play really hard defensively and did against tonight.”
AHS also did a good job of moving the ball, looking for the open man and making the ’Roos work hard on defense.
“I think we have special kids,” Reese said. “They’ve bought into playing hard on defense and sharing the basketball and playing with lots of energy. When they do that, they have fun. They had fun tonight, and we had fun the right way. So, it was a good night for our guys, especially our seniors."
Fun night for Eagles
Every AHS player dressed out scored in the game, including seniors Khristian Johnson (four points) and Devyan Wilkins (five points). AHS’ other senior, Dylan Wright, missed the game with a stomach bug.
“Dylan Wright was out sick,” Reese said. “So, I feel bad for him today. But our other three guys played awesome. I’m just so proud of them. They’ve had a really good career here and helped us take the next step as a program.”
Now, the Eagles just need a win at Trinity to clinch at least a share of their first title since 2016. AHS won the first meeting 56-50 on Jan. 21 in Abilene. Trinity, which had a bye Tuesday, is in third place at 7-3 in district.
“We know it’s going to be hard, so we’re going to have to prepare really well,” Reese said. “They’re going to be ready for us, after we got them down here. I think our kids will be up to the challenge and excited about it.”
Abilene High 72, Weatherford 29
Weatherford … 6 … 7 … 10 … 6 – 29
Abilene High … 10 … 14 … 29 … 19 – 72
WEATHERFORD (1-23, 0-10) – Cameron Smith 1 0-0 2, Beau Morrison 2 0-0 4, Tyler Thomas 0 0-0 0, Dez Forrest 1 0-0 2, Ryan Pool 0 0-0 0, Trajan Lewis 4 0-0 10, Ryan Clark 3 0-0 6, Ameer Adel 0 0-0 0, Brady Caudell 0 0-0 0, Chase Boatright 0 0-0 0, Brayden Starling 0 0-0 0, Braden Carter 2 0-0 5. Totals 13 0-0 29.
ABILENE HIGH (23-7, 10-1) – Pooh Johnson 2 0-0 4, Jalen McGee 6 2-2 16, Joe Joe Escobedo 8 0-0 17, Khristian Johnson 2 0-0 4, Sami Kanayo 0 1-4 1, Jackson Stevens 3 0-0 8, D.J. Modest 2 0-0 5, Nathan Watts 5 2-2 12, Devyan Wilkins 2 1-2 5. Totals 30 6-10 72.
3-Point Goals – WHS 3 (Lewis 2, Carter), AHS 6 (McGee 2, Escobedo, Stevens 2, Modest). Fouled Out – None. Technical Fouls – None. Total Fouls – WHS 9, AHS 5.