Indians face ranked 3A champion Cubs tonight
To close for comfort– Junior forward Clayton Medlin gets a two-handed foul from an Estacado player after the Indians went on a 6-0 run to start the game during district action on Jan. 24. The Indians took out the Matadors, 59-58, to move to 3-1 in district.
The Indian basketball team will face another top 25 team tonight in Brownfield.
The Cubs are one of four top 25 teams in the 2-4A district, a list that includes the Indians who made their ranking better by defeating Estacado, 59-58, on Jan. 24.
The Indians battled back and forth with the Matadors to eventually get a win in the last seconds of the game, taking their overall record to 13-9 with only one district loss.
“It is exciting because now we are three in one in district,” junior point guard Cade Barnard said. “We are now in the lead.”
The Indian team had also battled illness in the past two weeks with junior guard Carter Johnson missing the Denver City game with the flu.
“The flu hit us pretty hard,” junior Alex Gonzalez said. “It took out CJ…and three of our starters were playing sick. I definitely think the flu stopped us from playing at our best.”
The Indians also had to overcome hostile crowds.
“The fans, especially in Levelland, helped us bond together,” junior post Reese Moore said. “It is fun to listen to what they say sometimes and just laugh with them. It has also helped us because when the fans yell at the refs, the refs are nicer to us,and do not call as many fouls.”
Fouls have been a problem.
“Foul trouble has caused the most issues because we are so much bigger than other teams,” junior forward Carter Laramore said. “We have to work harder to stay out of foul trouble. Since we have size, our fouls are more noticeable. We are expected to foul more, and sometimes we over estimate our strength.”
District opponents present unique obstacles for the Indians.
“Our opponents are very quick,” junior forward Clayton Medlin said. “We have size where the other teams do not, but they have more speed. We just need to play more as a team and make sure to keep the pace of the game.”
The Indians are ready to face their opponents in the second half of district which starts next week.
“I am ready to play Lamesa again to prove we can win,” Johnson said. “We have not played anybody that quick, and they have been successful in getting our bigs in foul trouble. However, the last time we played them, a lot of us were sick. I am feeling good now, and we are ready now that everyone is becoming healthy and 100 percent.”
Laramore keeps last year’s Levelland score in his locker as a reminder.
“I am really ready to play Levelland again,” Laramore said. “It was good to beat them in the first round because they beat us out of the regional tournament last year, and to beat them again would be great. They are the rivals. My hate for them burns brighter than one thousand suns.”
The coaching staff is satisfied with how well the Indians have rebounded when faced with challenges.
“In a district like this, there is not a hardest team,” Assistant Coach Tanner Moore said. “We knew every game was going to be difficult and this tough. So far, we have pulled through with wins as needed, and hopefully we will continue to keep it up.”
