Boys Basketball: Brahmas upset ranked Tuloso-Midway Warriors
By Frank Cardenas, STCN
After dropping the first matchup earlier in the season to Tuloso-Midway, H.M. King earned redemption on Tuesday night, beating the No. 21 ranked Warriors in a 75-69 upset.
The Warriors were undefeated in District 31-4A play heading into the contest, whereas the Brahmas were one game back of the first place TM squad, with a record of 5-1.
The black and gold are now 6-1 in district play, and hold an overall 15-5 record with the win.
The Brahmas were led behind a career high scoring night from Lorenzo Villarreal, dropping 27 points, which included three shots from behind the three-point line in the third quarter.
Behind Villarreal, Nate Garcia chipped in 17 points and Curtis Bencze added 15 to contribute to the scoring affair from the Brahmas.
The score remained close through the first half of play, as the teams traded buckets to 16-17 first quarter, with the Warriors on top.
However, in the second quarter, a 14-2 run kickstarted by a Garcia and-one helped lift the Brahmas to a big 30-19 lead. The Brahmas held on to the lead for the remainder of the contest, which helped earned them the win.
H.M. King now sits atop the District 31-4A standings with Tuloso-Midway, with three games remaining in the season.
Following the contest, Villareal said the team wanted to “come out and finish strong” in HMK’s final home game of the season.
“My teammates set me up with big shots and I hit big shots when I needed to,” Villarreal said. “And I know just defense came down to it. We all played hard defense and we got the dub.
“We have a chance at a district championship, it’s what we worked the whole season for and we came out here and are closer to it after tonight,” he added.
HMK Head Coach Moses Mora said he couldn’t be more excited for his team after the win, especially after being so close to getting the win in their first contest against the Warriors.
“They wanted this game so bad and they showed it out on the court,” Mora said. “They played hard every second, so I am proud of these boys. They put in the work; they deserve it. Now we’re 1-1 – we split it with TM - and we’ll see what happens from here.”
The Brahmas will close out their season on the road, first taking on Robstown on Feb. 5, then battling Zapata on Feb. 9 and concluding the season against Calallen on Feb. 12.