Bobcats Open Season with Win Over Lobos

HALLSVILLE — Kicking off the season at home, Hallsville built an early lead over Longview on Tuesday at Bobcat Coliseum.

Once the season-opening rust wore off, it turned into a contest.

Hallsville used the early lead and kept the Lobos at arms length, taking a 74-67 win to start off the season.

The Bobcats, who jumped to a 17-8 lead after the first quarter, made a living at the free throw line, finishing 27-for-36 and dropped daggers from deep, finishing with a collective nine three pointers.

The Lobos, meanwhile, overcame early turnovers and controlled the boards, whittling a once 11-point deficit down to three points late in the loss.

Brendarion Dawson and Blaine Parker turned in 20-point nights for the Bobcats in the win. Parker pulled down five rebounds, including a pair of pivotal defensive boards down the stretch, and went 7-for-10 from the stripe in the fourth quarter. The pair also combined for five steals.

Chris Timberlake turned in a double-digit night as well, adding six assists to his 15 points.

For the Lobos, Jaylin Brown turned in a team-high 15 points off the bench, adding seven rebounds and two assists. Kyle Shields followed with 13 points and Jaiden Smith added 12 points — eight coming in the final stanza for the Lobos. Shields and Smith both pulled down five rebounds.

Kaland Johnson had four assists with eight points and four more Lobos contributed at leads two points.

Both teams finished the opening night with 15 turnovers.

Longview's foul woes started early with miscues on its first two possessions. The Lobos bounced back quick with Smith and Brian Beck taking dishes for a 4-1 lead, the lone lead for the Lobos on the night.

Dawson went coast-to-coast off, Parker drained a three and Dawson completed a lone 5-0 run as Hallsville went on a 16-2 run in the first quarter.

Kobe Davis answered a Hallsville three early in the second quarter, sparking a 15-9 Lobo run, making it 29-25 Hallsville at the 2:19 mark. Shadd Berg then drained back-to-back threes to thwart the Lobo attack, sending Hallsville into the locker room with a 35-31 halftime lead.

Brown completed a three-point play to start the third quarter for the Lobos before Hallsville answered with four-straight from the line.

The Bobcats had an answer for the Lobos the rest of the frame, highlighted by five-straight from Timberlake once again to build a 10-point lead.

Longview went to the line for a 5-0 run that spanned into the fourth quarter. Dawson took a long dish from Timberlake for a corner three for a 58-50 Hallsville lead.

Shields answered with a trey of his own and Johnson took a steal and dished it to Brown for a 63-59 Hallsville lead with 3:10 left.

Smith had a putback with 1:11 showing to trim Hallsville's lead down to three, 68-65.

Parker connected on two from the line and had a rebound off a Longview three-point attempt. Timberlake closed his night with two more free throws and Parker pulled down a second rebound on the other end and closed his night with two more from the stripe.

Hallsville visits Diboll on Friday.