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Lobos knock off No. 20 Bobcats, 59-49


Longview entered Tuesday night with eight series wins against Hallsville in the previous 15 meetings since the 2011-2012 season, and added another memorable chapter in the form of a 59-49 upset win against the state’s 20th ranked team.


The Lobos improved their overall season record to 13-10 and their district mark to 3-3. The Bobcats, on the other hand, dropped their overall season record to 24-3 and their district mark to 4-1.


“That’s a really good team,” Longview boys basketball head coach Don Newton said of Hallsville. “I thought we did a decent job of keeping them off balance. We’ve had some tough breaks in late game situations this year, and tonight I was really proud of them.”


Longview jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after early field goals by Chris Wilder and Chris Head. Hallsville answered with Taylor Sheffield’s basket, but the Lobos expanded their lead to 8-2 after back-to-back Jalen Hale makes from the floor.


The Lobos ultimately extended their lead to 11 points by the end of the first quarter. Hale produced another field goal and two free throws to score eight of his game-high 18 points in the opening frame.


Wilder earned a field goal and free throw during this time to record five of his seven points in the quarter, while Head contributed a late free throw to wrap up the period scoring, and set up his eight-point outing.


In the second quarter, Willie Nelson drained back-to-back free throws for his only points of the night to grow Longview’s advantage to 21-8 with 4:46 left, but Hallsville scored eight of the next nine points to make it a 22-16 game with 1:03 left in the half.


Sheffield’s three-pointer launched the Bobcat surge, and Anthon McDermott and Sheffield followed with free throw makes. Then, Zachar Florence completed a three-point play that included a field goal during a Lobo foul and the ensuing free throw attempt to wrap up the run, and score his only points of the night.


McDermott finished the game with a Hallsville-best 16 points, while Sheffield contributed 11 points.


But, Longview scored the final four points of the first half to take a 26-16 lead into the halftime break. Kingston Gordon’s only make of the night was a downtown three, and Hale added a late free throw.


The Lobos stayed hot in the opening minutes of the third quarter, and used a 13-8 run to take their largest lead of the night at 39-24. Isaiah Johnson wrapped up his team’s run with back-to-back three-pointers, and added another downtown shot in the fourth quarter to finish the game with nine points.


Hallsville followed with a 10-1 run to make it a six-point game, but Drew Ward’s late three-pointer provided Longview with a 43-34 lead at the end of the third period. Ward also finished the outing with nine points.

The Bobcats inched closer with an 8-4 start to the fourth quarter to make it a 47-42 game, but the Lobos closed out their double-digit victory with a late 12-7 run.


Longview is off on Friday, but will return to action in next Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. district game at Mount Pleasant. Hallsville, on the other hand, will host the same Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.


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