Loboes Even District Record With 48-46 Upset Over Lamesa
    by Randy Hogan, Staff Writer, The Monahans News, January 6, 2006   
       
The Monahans Loboes capitalized on the experience they gained from tournament play over the Christmas break, and upset Lamesa in a key District 3-3A game Tuesday in the Jerry Larned Sports Complex.

"Lamesa is a district contender for a playoff spot," Coach Thomas Clay said.  "It was a good win for us to start district."

Monahans (1-1 District 3-3A) won back-to-back games for the first time this season, but more importantly, picked up their first district win.

The Loboes defeated Christoval 72-57 in their final game of the Mary Tatum Classic at Big Lake over the Christmas holidays.

Against Lamesa, MHS trailed 4-0 before Sean Merrick broke the ice and scored the Loboes first points with 5:08 to play in the opening period.

Rickey Rivera pulled down an offensive rebound and put it back up and into the net to tie the game at 4-4, with only 2:31 remaining in the period.

Monahans played tough defense and held the Golden Tornadoes to just four points in the game's first six minutes.

Justin Patterson added a field goal, and Chris Roberson and Rivera each added a free throw, to end the first period trailing Lamesa 8-9.

To begin the second period, Merrick hit on a free throw attempt to draw the Loboes within two points at 9-11.

Roberson came up big with a steal and drive into the lane on the ensuing Golden Tor possession, tying the game at 11-11 with 6:09 to play in the half.

Lamesa looked to distance themselves from the Green, getting deadly three-point shooting from Bradley Free and Jordan Chapman to go up 12-19 on MHS.

However, Patterson drove the lane for a score to close the gap to 14-19 with 1:10 to play in the first half.

On the play, Chris Collins went up high and pulled down the rebound, looked off the defender and passed the ball to Patterson.  Collins picked up an assist as Patterson sliced in under the basket for the score.

Cole Cornelius answered the call with 21 seconds remaining, nailing a three-point shot from long range to close the scoring gap to 17-21 at the intermission.

After playing a solid defensive first half, the Loboes took the court confident that they could play with the traditionally strong Lamesa basketball powerhouse.

Monahans went to work quickly, using the inside power game to rattle the Tor's in the third period.

"Our rebounding is getting better," Clay said.  "We rebounded better offensively, and are working hard on blocking out.  We still give up a couple of shots at a time, but we are improving."

Blake Whisnand went strong to the basket to score the first points of the second half, bringing the score to 19-21.

On the play, Rivera recorded an assist, dishing off to Whisnand in the lane with 6:55 to play in the third period.

The Lobo defense denied the Golden Tor's on the ensuing possession.  The Green pushed the ball up court, and Roberson was fouled by Braxton Maxwell from beyond the three-point circle.

Roberson calmly sank all three free throw attempts, and the Loboes took their first lead of the night going up 22-21 with 6:18 to play in the period.

Whisnand began to dominate Lamesa, pulling down rebounds on both ends of the court.

The third period ended with Monahans trailing 28-30.

"Blake has such good hands and is so athletic," Clay said.  "He is all over the floor and played really hard tonight."

The final period of play began with Whisnand pounding the ball inside for a bucket, to tie the game 30-30.

On the Green's next possession, Whisnand took a feed pass and drove the lane hard for the score.

On the play, Roberson passed to Collins, and Collins quickly dished off to Whisnand for the basket to tie the game at 32-32.

The Loboes continued to apply the pressure inside, and Roberson picked up an assist by dishing off to Merrick for a score.

Lamesa rolled off six consecutive points and took a 36-44 lead with 2:30 to play in the game.

Trailing by eight points, the Loboes began their run to the finish off of a jump shot by Roberson.

Roberson looked as if he might drive the ball, but pulled up and hit a quick jumper from the right side of the key to close the scoring gap to 38-44.

Lamesa got a quick score on a lay up from Braxton, but it would be the final points of the night for the Golden Tors.

MHS turned up the heat when Rivera sank a key three point shot from the right side of the circle, and Patterson added a quick bucket off of a steal to bring the game within three points at 43-46.

"We would like to get the ball to Ricky more, " Clay said.  "He is such a good shooter, but unselfish and passes the ball well too.  He hit a big three-point shot down the stretch for us."

The Monahans defense stopped Lamesa in their tracks, taking possession with 49 seconds to play in the game.

Perhaps surprising everyone in the Complex, Merrick pulled up and rattled the rim with a huge three-point shot to tie the game 46-46 with 36 seconds to play.

Lamesa turned the ball over, forcing the Golden Tor's called time-out with 13 seconds to play.

When the Loboes put the ball in play, Merrick drew in the defense on a drive into the lane.

In heavy traffic, Merrick kicked a pass out to a wide-open Patterson, and he sank the jump shot from the right side of the key to give Monahans a 48-46 lead with only 3 seconds to play in the game.

"Merrick and Roberson drive the ball so well that it pulls defenders in so we can find our shooters on the perimeter," Clay said.  "We are starting to find our rotation, and that is important to the success of our play."

The Tors put the ball in the hands of their best shooter but Free's attempt from half court fell harmlessly to the court, and the Loboes celebrated a key District victory over Lamesa.

"We just wanted to play good enough defense to hang around and give ourselves a chance to win the game," Coach Clay said.  "Our shooting is not there yet, so we need our defense to step up and keep us in there."

The Loboes had three scorers in double digits, as Merrick lead the way with 11 points, followed by Roberson and Whisnand with 10 each.

Patterson finished the night with 8 points, Rivera added 6, and Cornelius had 3 points to conclude the scoring for Monahans.

"Our shooting is improving, but we are still missing touch," Clay said.  "You can see the improvement from game to game.  We are doing a better job of getting the ball to our shooters.  Patterson played hard and made some big shots for us tonight."

The Loboes are back in action Friday as they travel to Seminole to face the District favorite Indians. 

Keyed by Logan Summers