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Bearcats take down Brewer for league lead

Ladycats fall just short in close contest

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The Aledo Bearcats and Ladycats basketball teams hosted respective teams from the mighty Brewer basketball program Jan. 14 in front of a packed crowd of fans. Both contests had major implications in the District 5-5A race.

The energy was palpable and the games did not disappoint as the Ladycats tipped off first followed by the boys. In the end, the Ladycats’ late rally came up just short in a 50-46 defeat while the boys collected an impressive victory over the Bears by a final score of 64-56 to take sole possession of first place in district.

 

Bearcats

For the boys squad, the win over Brewer was momentous as it was Aledo’s first victory over the Bears since the teams were placed in the same district in the 2020-21 season.

“It’s big for these guys – it’s not as deep-rooted for me individually – but I’m really happy for them,” Bearcats head coach Brian Blackburn said. “These guys have been working really hard and I know these guys really wanted this win.”

The long-coveted win has also provided a huge boost for Aledo (22-4 overall), who earned a 6-0 record through the first half of district play.

“It feels amazing and we’re just ready to move on to the next game and get that same momentum going against Chisholm Trail,” star senior guard Joaquin Pacheco said. “We’re undefeated through the first round of district – we’re just ready for anything.”

The teams competed through a first quarter that ended with Brewer and Aledo deadlocked at 16 points apiece. The Bearcats controlled the action through most of the second quarter – highlighted by strong play from junior post Townes Van Huysen down low, who had two key putback layups during the middle of the frame. Brewer ended the first half on a 4-0 spurt that gave the Bears a 31-30 advantage at intermission.

Then, Aledo used its playmaking and togetherness to turn things in its favor.

“I think it’s awesome how each player has an individual role and they don’t stray away from it,” Pacheco said. “We were a really good team last year, but everyone really knows their assignments this year to the best of their abilities. Coach (Blackburn) is the best coach I’ve ever played for, and he’s been making sure everyone knows their roles – I give him a lot of the credit with where we’re at.”

Sophomore guard Caden Cunningham got Aledo within 34-33 after drilling a 3-pointer with 6:42 left in the third. Moments later, Pacheco drained a triple of his own at the 5:02 mark to trim Brewer’s lead to 39-36. Then, back-to-back buckets from Van Huysen and Enrique Pacheco pulled Aledo to within 41-40 with 2:27 to go.

After that, junior guard Kaiden Clayborn spearheaded a key sequence that Blackburn called “the deciding factor.”

First, Clayburn splashed a 3-pointer with 1:44 left that gave Aledo the lead back at 43-41. Then, he drew a charge with a minute left before Joaquin Pacheco completed an acrobatic 3-point play through traffic to boost Aledo’s lead to 46-41 entering the fourth quarter.

For good measure, Pacheco hit nothing but net from outside the arc just 17 seconds into the fourth quarter that increased the lead to 49-41. Aledo led by as many as 10 points while Brewer could not get closer than five the rest of the way.

“I think it gives everyone confidence knowing that we’ve now beaten every team in our district,” Pacheco said. “Getting our first district championship this place has ever seen would be something really amazing to contribute to.”

While the start to the district portion of the season has been nothing short of impressive, the process and diligence from the players has been admirable in the eyes of the coaching staff, where players have taken on plenty of extra homework off the hardwood.

“We may give them a scouting report, but they have to read it. We may send them some video clips from Hudl, but they have to watch the film on their own – that’s what champions do and I think that’s what separates them right now,” Blackburn said. “We’ll go over stuff with the guys but it’s really their team – we’ll just facilitate a successful game plan, they just have to understand it. I told them I would treat them like a college team … everything that we do is based off stuff I learned as a player at Texas A&M, and they are able to buy into this process based on the aspirations they have.”

Pacheco led the charge with a game-high 30 points while Van Huysen added 14 points. Clayborn scored eight points for Aledo while Enrique Pacheco and Cunningham each finished with six points.

In addition to the varsity victory, the ninth grade squad won 58-40 while the junior varsity suffered a 71-61 defeat. No individual scorers were available.

The Bearcats were playing at Chisholm Trail at press time in a battle of the league’s top two teams. They host Keller Fossil Ridge Friday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m.

Ella Isbell takes a shot in action at Granbury on Jan 7.
Ella Isbell takes a shot in action at Granbury on Jan 7.

Ladycats

Meanwhile, the Ladycats put on a show for their home fans as well in spite of the loss. The Ladycats battled closely with Brewer similar to the seven-point road loss, but the improvement on offense and defense was evident.

The loss left Aledo (16-11 overall) tied for second in district with a 5-2 record, both losses coming to the Lady Bears.

“The first time we played them we lost by seven, had a ton of turnovers and didn’t execute well while their two best players combined for 40 (points),” Ladycats head coach Donnie Ott said. “Today, we held them to 27 between the two of them and only lost by four. I love the way they responded to start the second half, too, in using that 8-0 run to take the lead back. It may not be a win on the scoreboard, but it’s a win for us and this program. The crowd was packed and very energetic – it was a great and entertaining basketball game.”

Even though it was five points short of a win, the game will not inhibit Aledo’s ability to continue to contend in its district or make a strong playoff run.

“With the new format of UIL, this game doesn’t have much bearing on our playoff standings – we’re playing the long game,” Ott said. “It has a bearing on the district championship, but it’s definitely not the end of the world for us.”

Aledo hung close with Brewer early and often as Aledo remained within 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, senior post Kinley Elms hit a layup with 4:46 left that cut the deficit to 16-14 and scored again on the block with 3:29 to go to cut the visitors’ lead to 20-16. After that, junior guard Elizabeth Griffin drove to the basket and scored with 1:39 and followed that layup with a long ball at the 1:02 mark that made it a 24-21 deficit. Brewer scored once more to enter halftime with a 26-21 advantage.

Then, Aledo owned the third quarter.

Aledo exploded out of the gates on an 8-0 run – a layup from Elms, a baseline floater by Griffin and transition scores from sophomore Brooklyn Dempsey and junior Tiara Butler had Aledo out in front 29-26 with 5:39 left. Later, Brewer continued to creep closer – eventually tying the score at 29-all – but a nice layup by Butler with 1:08 and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from senior guard August Carlone gave the Ladycats a 34-33 edge entering the fourth.

Aledo held a 36-33 lead after Butler found Elms inside for a score with 6:53 left, but Brewer responded with a 9-0 run to take a 42-36 lead that they would not relinquish. Aledo managed to get as close as 45-43 after Dempsey split a pair of free throws with 1:59 remaining but could not wrestle the lead back in the end.

“We’ve got to work on late game situations like trapping out of inbound sets and not fouling 3-point shooters,” Ott said. “Offensively, they took Liz (Elizabeth Griffin) out late in the game to put the pressure on our other guards, so we will need to be more efficient there. There is a lot that we can learn and grow from and this game is going to be huge for making us better in the long term.”

Griffin led the way with a team-high 18 points while Elms scored 10. Butler added nine while Carlone (6) and Dempsey (3) combined for nine more points.

Furthermore, the JV and ninth grade Ladycat teams scored big in the win column in their respective wins over Brewer. The JV team won 46-6 behind 10 points from Sarah Edwards while the freshman squad recorded a 53-8 victory behind 22 points from Bailey Martin and 12 from Sonsoles Rosado.

At press time, the Ladycats were playing at Chisholm Trail. Friday, Jan. 24, they host Keller Fossil Ridge at 6:15 p.m. in a game that could decide second place in district.

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