On to the Regional Finals!
Schulenburg Boys Basketball Team Wins Fourth Round Playoff Game Over Sabinal; Now One Win Away from State Semis
The Schulenburg High School boy’s basketball team took on Sabinal in a regional semifinal contest Tuesday night held at San Antonio Wagner High School and stayed hot by picking up another win and advancing to the regional finals.
Sabinal got off to a strong start in the first quarter by hitting shots until Schulenburg found their poise in the next quarter and then controlled the second half, running out the clock in the final minutes for a 66-56 win.
“When we got down 8 or 10 and then we just scooted right back up and caught them, I knew we were in pretty good shape,” said Schulenburg head boys basketball coach Rich Hoogendoorn. “Number 23 (senior guard Diego Medina) killed us in the first half, we made that adjustment at halftime, and I don’t think he scored in the second half. That was huge. Bryce and Kenny took number 3 (senior guard Cesar Reyes) and number 23 (Medina), which are their big dogs and did a great job on them. Jayson Schaefer coming off the bench, this was his first game since he broke his leg in football, and he gave us a huge boost. It was a team effort. Praise the lord.”
Senior guard Bryce Wilson continued his postseason tear with 28 points and seemed to be able to score from any kind of angle.
“I’ve just been trying to find my shot because my shot’s been off a little bit”, Wilson said. “This game, my shot was really on. My teammates were finding me open and I was just taking it to the rack and finishing.”
Sabinal displayed a 2-3 zone to begin the match that Schulenburg junior guard Kenny King found his way through for an opening lay up, then was copied by Sabinal.
The two teams answered each other’s three pointers shortly after until Sabinal went into a 3-2 full-court trap at the six minute mark.
Yellow Jackets senior guard Diego Medina hit a deep three with 1:45 to play in the first quarter to go up 16-7 that forced Schulenburg to call a timeout. Schulenburg senior guard Jalen Wilson drove to the basket from the wing and scored a lay up out of the timeout. At the 25 second mark, Bryce Wilson made another drive from near the top of the key for a lay up to cut the Sabinal lead to 20-13.
Schulenburg continued to hang tough in the closing minutes of the first quarter as senior forward Jayson Schaefer added to the contributions with a lay up on a pass from the half court logo by junior guard Keisean Johnson. The Yellow Jackets remained ahead with a score of 22- 15 at the end of the first quarter. Bryce Wilson scored on a floater to open the second quarter, then senior forward Brett Janecek grabbed his own rebound off a miss and converted an ‘and one’ play to make it a 24-20 game at the 6:43 mark. Schulenburg continued to make up ground with a Bryce Wilson jumper from inside the wing on a transition pass across the perimeter from Johnson.
Wilson then hit a three pointer for a 26-25 scoreboard, but Sabinal responded with a long three pointer from senior forward Joshua Guevara to bump their lead back to 29-25 with just over four minutes left in the period. Wilson continued his dominant stretch by hitting two lay ups and a three pointer to keep his team in contention, only trailing by one point at 33-32 going into halftime.
He then opened with another three to start the third quarter to take a 35-33 lead. Sabinal responded with a lay up, then Wilson fired back with a lay up before senior center Alex Lozano hit a three pointer from the top of the key to make it a 40-37 game. The Yellow Jackets took the lead back on two made jump shots in a row. On the following possession, Wilson drove baseline and netted a floater. Sabinal hit two free throws on the next drive and shortly after experienced great ball movement from Schulenburg to give Schaefer another easy lay up to take a 45-44 lead with just over two minutes to play in the period.
Sabinal was called for a travel that was followed by another lay up from Schaefer. The Yellow Jackets then tied the game at 47 with a three pointer from Reyes. Schulenburg junior guard Kenny King gave his team the momentum heading into the fourth quarter by scoring two lay ups on plays where he had to run the length of the floor in order to give his team a 51-47 lead at crunch time. Schulenburg ran the clock at the beginning of the period until King had the ball above the wing and drove middle to find Wilson for a lay up and a 53-47 advantage. The Horns started to put their foot down at 55-47 when King made an incredibly difficult jump shot fading away from the baseline with just over six minutes to go. Sabinal senior center Diego Cardenas hit a much needed three to cut the deficit to 57-50 around the three minute mark. On the next possession, Janecek inbounded to a cutting Jalen Wilson for an easy lay up and a 59-50 scoreboard. Schulenburg wasted some more clock with two minutes to go, which made Sabinal decide to start fouling. Lozano was fouled and went to the line with 52.6 seconds left and hit one of two free throws for a 62-52 lead.
Sabinal’s Cardenas gave his team some kind of hope with a long three pointer to make it a 62-55 game. Lozano went to the line and split the pair again at the 42.4 second mark. Sabinal missed a three pointer on the other end that went out of bounds to Schulenburg. Jalen Wilson took the inbound and threw a football pass to King all the way down court who made the smart play by dribbling the ball outside of the perimeter instead of taking the easy lay up. King was fouled and hit both free throws. Bryce Wilson followed that up with a made free throw and a 66-56 victory for Schulenburg as they continue their remarkable run in the playoffs.
Schulenburg 66, Sabinal 56
Schulenburg scoring: Kenny King- 12 pts, Bryce Wilson- 28 pts, Jalen Wilson- 4 pts, Jayson Schaefer- 6 pts, T.J. Speed- 2 pts, Brett Janecek- 4 pts, Alex Lozano- 8 pts.
Sabinal scoring: Cesar Reyes- 24 pts, Joshua Guevara – 4 pts, Diego Medina- 16 pts, Diego Cardenas- 12 pts.
Up Next:
The Schulenburg boys (22-7) play Port Aransas (26-4) in the regional finals. That game will be 7 p.m. Friday in Cuero. The winner of that game advances to the state semifinals.
Elite Eight:
Here’s all four regional final matchups:
Lipan (23-4) vs. Cisco (20-3)
Wink (27-0) vs. Clarendon (19-2)
Schulenburg (22-7) vs. Port Aransas (26-4)
Grapeland (27-1) vs. La Poynor (26-5)