Indian basketball hosts Monahans tonight

The Indian basketball team has two district games remaining. They will host Monahans tonight in the main and then travel to Fort Stockton on Feb. 12.

  The Indians hold a 6-0 district record after a 43-33 win over Andrews on Feb. 5.

    “We just got to keep on the track we are on,” junior forward Jalen Brattain said. “Keep getting wins.”

   The team is striving to return to the regional tournament and beyond.

  “At the beginning of the season, coach had all the teams drawn up on the board,” senior forward Anthony Moncayo said. “He told us what team we would have to beat and where. We have a good shot at getting to the regional championship, and we will see if we can make it out of there. We have really good chances of getting back to where we were last year.”

   The team is fairly young with only five upperclassmen.

   “We have a lot of sophomores on the team,” Coach David Williams said. “For a lot of them, it’s their first year on varsity, so it’s taken a while to get everybody playing consistently, but I think we’ve done that.”

   Sophomore guard Kross Carter recently suffered a foot injury, leaving a gap in the starting line up.

   “Kross Carter is a great leader and someone who pumps us up on the court,” sophomore guard Parker Freeman said. “Having one of those missing pieces not on court kind of hits us but having it on the bench with us really helps a lot.”

   The 20-9 Indians see the state tournament as an ultimate goal but plan to create the best route to return the regional tournament.

   “We are trying to get into the regional tournament first,” senior guard Jesus Perez Dominguez said. “But as Coach Williams would say ‘the next game is the most important game’.“