HS basketball playoffs: Rowell's rainbows lead to golden playoff … – Waco Tribune-Herald

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Lorena’s Keegan Rowell attempts a layup over Groesbeck’s Ca’Zian Bradley in the first half. Rowell scored a game-leading 24 points.
Lorena’s Carter Pitts shoots between Groesbeck’s Anthony Lewis and Braden Hurt in the first half.
Lorena’s Keegan Rowell is fouled while attempting a shot between Groesbeck’s Chris Cox, left, and Allen Lewis, right, in the first half.
Groesbeck’s Braden Hurt pulls down a rebound over Lorena’s Khi Ritchie in the first half.
Lorena’s Khi Ritchie attempts a shot over Groesbeck’s Braden Hurt in the first half.
Groesbeck’s Ca’Zian Bradley puts up a shot between Lorena’s guard Collin Hill, left, and Keegan Rowell, right, in the second half.
Groesbeck’s Allen Lewis is pressured by Lorena’s guard Collin Hill, left, and Seth Taverner, right, in the second half.
In a first-round squabble that revived a third-round scuffle from last season, Lorena landed some second-quarter body blows. Then the Leopards finished it off with a third-quarter knockout.
Keegan Rowell blistered the nets in the third period, as third-ranked Lorena gored Groesbeck, 57-40, in the Class 3A bi-district boys basketball playoffs on Monday night at Midway High School.
Rowell, a senior guard, scored 12 of his game-high 24 points in the third quarter, as Lorena (30-5) salted the game away. He knocked down five 3-pointers on the night and also tallied four steals.
Lorena advances to face the winner of Tuesday’s bi-district game between Scurry-Rosser and Maypearl in the area round of the playoffs later this week.
Leopards coach Matt Jackson said that Rowell had experienced a few tough shooting nights in recent games. But that’s a guy that always has the green light to launch away, considering he owns a sparkling rainbow stroke that’s as pretty as anything you’d witness in the sky after a thunderstorm.
“We needed that tonight,” Jackson said. “He’s had games recently, he was good last game against Rogers, but some games before that he struggled. But he’s still in the gym and he just doesn’t lose heart. He’s fearless when it comes to stepping up and hitting those shots. He hit a couple of big ones tonight that we needed in some tough spots.”
Entering the season, Jackson probably never would have guessed that the Leopards would meet Groesbeck (19-14) in the bi-district round. That was a regional quarterfinal matchup from a year ago, and Lorena needed every ounce of hustle it could muster to eliminate the Goats, 56-52, in that 2022 matchup.
But Chad Hartley’s Goats were a little stunted by injuries earlier in the season before they found their footing later on. So, Lorena knew it was going to be in for a fight.
“Hat’s off to Coach Hartley and those guys,” Jackson said. “They were injured, No. 1 (Allen Lewis) and 32 (Braden Hurt) were injured until Christmas, so it’s not your typical (four seed) team. That’s a fourth-place team that beat Mexia, they beat Franklin at Franklin. I just told those guys, they’re going to come in and be ready for the challenge. They did that, but I was proud of our guys. I thought we responded really well.”
The biggest response came right after the halftime break, shortly after the players from Academy and Fairfield cleared the court, as they were warming up for their own bi-district clash that followed the Lorena-Groesbeck game.
Lorena took a 30-19 lead into that third quarter, meaning it was just a couple of Goat buckets away from getting really interesting. But if Groesbeck thought it was going to get anything easy at the hoop, it had another thing coming. The Leopards closed gaps and challenged every Groesbeck shot with energy, holding the Goats without a single point for nearly six minutes of the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Rowell was putting on a scoring show. He got loose for a layup in transition. Then he dropped that most modern of basketball dance steps with a slick Euro for another layin. By the time he poked away a steal and pulled up for an all-net 3-pointer in transition, Lorena had scored the first 12 points of the quarter to push the gap to 42-19.
Hurt finally broke the drought for the Goats by scoring inside with 2:11 to play in the third, but the damage was done, thanks to the Leopards’ spunky defense.
“That’s where we’re always going to hang our hat, is on the defensive end. We just know how important it is,” Jackson said. “There’s going to be nights where the ball doesn’t go in or we struggle offensively, but defense, you can always rely on that. So that’s why I was really, really confident coming into this game, because our defensive practices the last three days to the last week were the best practices we’ve had all year.”
The Goats kept climbing, not wanting their season to finish without a fight. They outscored Lorena, 7-3, to start the fourth quarter. That mini-run was capped by a slick penetrating move and dump-off pass from diminutive point guard Lamodrick Greer to Hurt for a bucket. That shot cut Lorena’s lead to 49-34 with 5:33 to play and prompted a Jackson timeout.
Coming out of that stoppage, Groesbeck stepped into a full-court press. But Lorena didn’t panic, and calmly passed the ball upcourt, leading to a layup for Carter Pitts. The Goat run was effectively nullified.
It wasn’t the most sizzling of shooting nights for one of the area’s most gifted guards, Lorena junior Camden Brock. Nevertheless, Brock is one of those guys that can impact the game in a variety of ways, even when he’s not ripping 3s. Brock supplied the Leopards with grisly rebounding and defense, totaling 12 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot. He also turned in the highlight play of the night with 1:57 remaining when he caught the ball in the corner, pump-faked his defender into the air, then drove the baseline and tossed down a two-handed flush, as the Leopard crowd roared.
Pitts also served as something of a human energy drink for Lorena, scoring 15 points and collecting seven rebounds.
For Groesbeck, the burly Hurt wrestled his way to a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Greer, easily the smallest guy on the court, used his quickness to his advantage on his way to 10 points and three steals, while Allen Lewis and Anthony Lewis picked up nine points apiece.
The playoffs may have started at Midway for Lorena, but the Leopards don’t want it to be the last time they play at Panther Arena. Midway is the site of the Region III-3A tournament, which Lorena can reach with two more wins.
Not that it’s looking that far ahead.
“We’ll try to get another one,” Jackson said. “I told them, one more from here. That’s all it is. One more.”
For basketball coaches and players, this is the best time of year, and Lorena plans to soak up every moment.
“It’s a lot of fun. And really more than winning,” the coach said. “Winning’s fun and going on, but tonight guarantees me that I’m going to get three or four more days with my guys. They’re just such good kids, and I’m excited that I get three or four more days with them. Just to hang out with them.”
Your playoff opener is a pretty nice time to put up a season high in scoring.
That’s what Crawford did in sprinting past Hubbard in Class 2A bi-district action on Monday at Robinson High School.
Crawford will play the Centerville-Frankston winner in the area playoffs. The Jaguars close out their season at 21-11.
GEORGETOWN — Few, if any, teams in Class 4A are playing any better than the third-ranked La Vega Lady Pirates.
La Vega throttled Marble Falls for its third straight playoff rout in the Class 4A regional quarterfinals at Georgetown High School. The Lady Pirates have won their three playoff games by an average of 68 points, as the game against Marble Falls was by far the closest yet.
La Vega (34-5) is regional tournament-bound for the third straight year, and will face the winner of Tuesday’s game between Hardin-Jefferson and Palestine in the Region III-4A semifinals. That game for the Lady Pirates will be 6 p.m. Friday at Bryan High School.
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Can you score on one of the most rugged defenders in the NBA?
Lorena’s Keegan Rowell attempts a layup over Groesbeck’s Ca’Zian Bradley in the first half. Rowell scored a game-leading 24 points.
Lorena’s Carter Pitts shoots between Groesbeck’s Anthony Lewis and Braden Hurt in the first half.
Lorena’s Keegan Rowell is fouled while attempting a shot between Groesbeck’s Chris Cox, left, and Allen Lewis, right, in the first half.
Groesbeck’s Braden Hurt pulls down a rebound over Lorena’s Khi Ritchie in the first half.
Lorena’s Khi Ritchie attempts a shot over Groesbeck’s Braden Hurt in the first half.
Groesbeck’s Ca’Zian Bradley puts up a shot between Lorena’s guard Collin Hill, left, and Keegan Rowell, right, in the second half.
Groesbeck’s Allen Lewis is pressured by Lorena’s guard Collin Hill, left, and Seth Taverner, right, in the second half.
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