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BRYAN BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM CAN'T SLOW COPPERAS COVE'S SECOND-HALF SURGE

Bryan boys basketball team can't slow Copperas Cove's second-half surge

ABIGAIL OCHOA

The Eagle | 12/3/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Dave McDermand

The Bryan boys basketball team couldn’t stop a hard-charging Copperas Cove in the second half, losing 59-42 on Tuesday in nondistrict play at Viking Gym.

Bryan (5-4) led 23-22 at halftime, but Copperas Cove (2-4) ended a three-game losing streak with a dominant performance in the second half.

Ahmad Pierce started the Bulldawgs on a 13-0 run with a layup early in the third quarter. Bryan’s Xavier Duren broke up the run with a pair of baskets, but Copperas Cove closed the third with a 43-27 lead.


The Vikings opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run. Rodney Johnson hit a layup and a free throw during the run, and Dylan Clover hit a 3-pointer. But the Bulldawgs recovered and began taking advantage of the Vikings’ gambling defense as they tried to force their way back into the game.

“Because we had struggled so much in the half court, we had to try to create some easy offense with some defensive turnovers,” Bryan head coach Jonathan Hines said. “So that kind of left us open on the backside, but being down it was a gamble we had to take to try to get some easy buckets. I think that’s what allowed us to make the run. Copperas Cove did a good job of adapting to that, and late in the fourth quarter they started to hit us on the backside for some easy layups, which stretched the final score out, but it was necessary for us to try to come back.”

In the first quarter, the Vikings offense looked unstoppable, securing a 10-2 lead on a layup by Davon Castilleja with three minutes left in the quarter. Even with two free throws and a 3-pointer by Copperas Cove, Bryan led 13-11 going into the second quarter.


Things then started to slow down, and the Bulldawgs tied the score at 13 with seven minutes left. The Bulldawgs eventually took control, gaining a 22-17 lead with less than two minutes left in the period, but Bryan hit two free throws and went on a 6-0 run to get ahead by one before halftime.

“We were able to get some easy buckets early in the first quarter, so momentum was on our side,” Hines said. “They kind of pressured our ball handlers a little bit, and we weren’t able to handle that pressure. We weren’t really able to get into our offense. We were slow really the entire game after the first quarter. The difference in the second half was that we didn’t make shots.”

Hines took the blame for a sluggish-at-times Bryan team — a problem he expects to fix as the Vikings have some time to focus on themselves before playing in the Montgomery tournament.

“I’m not going to take anything away from Copperas Cove because they did a great job tonight defensively, but a lot of this was the Vikings not being ready to play,” Hines said. “I’ll take that responsibility. I’ve got to do a better job of having the guys ready to go. We just didn’t execute well on the offensive end.”

Bryan will face Waller at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 12 in the Montgomery to... Click here to read full article

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