Leps Fall to Smithville by 3
A three-pointer by Ty Trlicek with 31 seconds in the game followed by a three-pointer by Jaxon Cooper with 18 seconds to go trimmed Smithville’s edge to 59-56.
La Grange promptly fouled to stop the clock and sent Smithville to the line with 16 seconds left. The Tigers missed both tries, but an offensive rebound, and a putback by Smithville’s Ian Flowers preserved the win.
La Grange’s Caden Cooper made lay-up at the buzzer but it was not enough.
“Big win Tuesday and then tough loss tonight. Gotta hand it to Smithville, they came out with a lot of emotion and passion,” David Cooper said. “Their two big kids were banging on the boards and we couldn’t handle them. They are tough. I’m glad we’ve played them twice and don’t have to play them again.”
The loss drops the Leps’ overall record to 10-6 and their district mark to 4-2.
The win improves Smithville’s district record to 3-1.
Caden Cooper led the Leps in scoring with 21 points. Bravion Rogers and Jaxon Cooper each scored 10.
“We’re in a dogfight now for (playoff) seeding,” David Cooper said. “We need to get one more win (in the final four games) to make the playoffs.”
La Grange had beaten Smithville by 12 on the road a month ago.
“They had a lot more energy than us, I guess they wanted to get us back for beating them the first time,” Jaxon Cooper said. “We’ve gotta try to bring that intensity next time we play.”
The Leps play at Manor New Tech Tuesday.
1/22/21
Smithville 61, La Grange boys 58
Smithville 16 12 14 19 – 61
LG 10 17 13 18 – 58
LG scoring: Caden Cooper 21, Jonathan Rogers 10, Jaxon Cooper 10, Dana Baker 9, Andrew Faske 4, Ty Trlicek 3, Eli Roberts 1.
Smithville scoring: Haywood 3, Hodge 6, Vacek 11, Sullivan 1, Hancock 4, Roberson 2, Johnson 18, Flowers 16.
One last-minute rally was successful for La Grange basketball last week in Giddings, but the late magic fell a little short for the Leps Friday as they lost to Smithville 61-58.
“You win some, you lose some,” said La Grange head coach David Cooper as he walked out of the locker room after the loss.
On Tuesday it had been a goahead three-pointer with 12 seconds left in the game by Jaxon Cooper that vaulted the Leps over the Buffaloes.
Friday, La Grange trailed by 11 points to Smithville with two minutes to go before a wild rally by the Leps trimmed the Tigers lead to just three.