Mustangs fall in district quarter-finals

BIC (7-25) jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the opening quarter and led 28-25 after one only to see Bay outscore them 61-46 over the next three quarters as BIC lost 86-74 in the quarter-final round of the 2A-3 district tournament this past Friday in Rector.

Zander Jackson gave BIC the early 3-0 lead with an old-school three-point play and Braxton Matheny scored inside to make it 5-0 Mustangs. Back-to-back triple twine from Kell Gathright pushed the Mustangs’ lead to 11-0 before Bay scored the next five points making it 11-5 BIC with 5:13 left. Gathright scored inside and Junior Vazquez hit two free throws as the Yellowjackets converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 15-8 Mustangs. Leo Contreras hit two free throws, Bay canned a three-ball before Gathright drilled another three for BIC making the score 20-11 Mustangs.

The ‘Jackets cut the lead to 20-17 before BIC got a three-ball from Wicker Craig and a basket inside from Jackson to push their lead to 25-17. Bay canned a three-pointer, then Contreras hit one of two free throws and scored inside for BIC, before the Yellowjackets hit a three-pointer and scored down low to make it 28-25 at the end of one.

Bay scored the first four points of the second quarter to go up 29-28 before Contreras scored inside for BIC making the score 30-29 Yellowjackets. Bay scored inside before Contreras scored six straight points to make it 34-31 Mustangs. The ‘Jackets got a stick back, Gathright hit a jumper, Bay scored inside and Craig hit one of two free throws for the Mustangs making it 37-35 BIC with 3:46 left. The Yellowjackets scored the next four points to take a 39-37 lead before Gathright scored inside to tie the game at 39-39. Bay ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 47-39 lead to halftime.

Gathright cut the lead to 47-42 with a three-pointer early in the third quarter only to see Bay score six straight points to push their lead to 53-42. Jackson hit one of two free throws, the ‘Jackets scored in the paint and Jackson scored down low to make it 55-45 Bay with 5:18 left. The Yellowjackets scored inside before Gathright canned a three-pointer, Jackson hit two free throws and Contreras scored in the paint to make it 57-52 Bay. The ‘Jackets scored down low, Contreras hit two free throws and two technical free throws before Gathright drilled a three-ball to cut the Bay lead to 62-59. The Yellowjackets canned a three-ball and hit one of two free throws while Gathright hit a jumper for the Mustangs making the score 66-61 after three quarters of play.

Bay pushed the lead to 71-61 early in the fourth quarter before Gathright converted an old-school three-point and hit triple twine to make it 71-67 ‘Jackets with 6:04 left. Bay converted a conventional three-point play, Contreras hit a jumper in the lane, the Yellowjackets scored in the paint before Jackson hit a jumper for the Mustangs making it 76-71 Bay. The ‘Jackets scored inside, Gathright drilled a three-ball to make it 78-74. But Bay scored the last eight points of the game to set the final score of 86-74.

“Thought both teams played extremely well and hard tonight. Both team got off the bus ready to score but didn’t want to guard anybody,” BIC head coach Taylor Layne said after the game. “I think Zander Jackson, along with the rest of the guys, didn’t want to the season to end tonight. He had a good night getting downhill and finishing around the basket,” Layne added.

Jackson led BIC with 24 points as Gathright finished with 23 points. Contreras tossed in 19 points, Craig scored four points while Matheny and Vasquez chipped in two points each.