In a game that featured 69 turnovers – several the result of charging calls – 61 free throw attempts and six players who fouled out, the Brownwood Lions dropped a chaotic season opener Tuesday night at Warren Gym to the Dublin Lions, 81-76.
Playing with just eight on the roster as several Lions won’t be joining the squad until the completion of football season, Brownwood (0-1) committed 33 turnovers and converted 21 of 34 free throws. Meanwhile, Dublin (1-0) overcame 36 turnovers and 15 of 27 free throw shooting to snatch the victory. Both teams had three players disqualified due to amassing five personal fouls.
“You kind of expect that with two teams that get up and down the floor,” said Brownwood third-year head coach Will Parker. “We haven’t really seen that type of pressure and speed in practice and when you play against a team like that it’s going to be sloppy. What you hope is your guards learn from the experience and can get better. The game should slow down after this no matter who we play and that should be good for us.”
Leading the charge for the home Lions were Casey Friebel with 15 points trailed by Joel Holguin with 14, Austin Pittman with 13, Gage Sparks and Noah Pyle with 10 apiece, Durhman Brown with 7, Hayden Proffitt with 5, and Bennett Windham with 2 points.
Dublin was sparked by Kaiden Gaitan’s 24 points, 20 from Aidan Salyer, and 15 points from Hunter Jones.
The Lions led 20-19 after one quarter, but Dublin opened a 41-36 lead at halftime that stood at 63-58 heading into the fourth period.
Trailing 71-63 with 5:05 left, Brownwood went on a 9-2 run to close the gap to 73-72 at the 2:56 mark. Holguin scored on consecutive buckets to bring the Lions within four points 71-67, at the 4:24 Dublin answered with a bucket by Gaitan with 3:27 to go. Friebel then sank a pair of free throws at the 3:20 mark to the mark the score 73-69, and then he knocked down a three-pointer to bring the Lions within one point.
Unfortunately for Brownwood, Dublin answered with the next six points to push the lead to 79-72 with 1:36 to go. The Lions crept back within a trey, 79-76, and with 8 seconds left Holguin tying three-point attempt bounced off the rim. Dublin then corralled the rebound and sank two free throws to ice the victory.
Among the highlights of the Lions’ performance, Parker said, “Early on the free throws were pretty good. I always have five guys on the floor that I really enjoy watching play. They get after it from diving on the floor to taking charges. That’s hard-nosed basketball and yeah, we have to clean it up, but I was proud of the effort.”
Brownwood is back in action at 7:30 p.m. Friday as it ventures to Class 4A Benbrook.
“We have a long drive to Benbrook and they have all their football guys so they’re going to be a solid squad,” Parker said. “I just want to see growth, our guys get better, guards make better decisions and hopefully our shooters getting going a little earlier on.”