Leps Get Hot Late to Surge Past Gonzales in Basketball 45-29

After a defensive slugfest early, the La Grange boys basketball team found their groove offensively on the second half to beat Gonzales 4529 in their first home game of 2026.

La Grange was clinging to a 15-14 lead at halftime, but Conner Brooks, Cole Collier and Hunter Gross had big second halves to clinch a win that improves the Leps’s record to 13-8 overall.

“That was a really good defensive team we just played – athletic and well coached,” said La Grange head coach Trent Collier. “We weren’t able to get our normal looks, but at the end of the day we knew we could win the rebounding battle and if we could get anything going in transition we could make it happen. We just needed to hit one or two shots and the rest was going to take care of itself.

“Defensively we were really good. Brandon (Mathis) played the best defensive game I’ve seen him play in a while. A lot of them did. Cole (Collier) played well defensively, Caleb (Norwood) and Dillan (Johnson) also stood out defensively.

“Hunter (Gross) is starting to give us someone who can score a little outside and a calm presence on the court for a sophomore. Tonight was a good win. It was a team we should have beat – and we did.”

Conner Brooks led the Leps in scoring with 12 points. Cole Collier added nine.

Hunter Gross scored seven, Brandon Mathis six, Caleb Norwood five, Mason Kleiber four and Dillan Johnson two. The Leps are now only a week away from starting district play. They play at Van Vleck Friday and host Bandera next Tuesday before the district opener at Giddings Jan. 16.

Coach Collier said his team is trending in the right direction but still has work to do to be where he wants them to be by the start of district.

“We know what our identity is, but we are still trying to play to our identity – the toughness and the grit,” Collier said.