Bryan’s defensive pressure and sharpshooting helped whittle a 14-point second-half deficit into a chance to tie late, but the Vikings ultimately fell to the Lobos 56-50 at Viking Gym.
“They have all the pieces to be a really good team. They’ve got length, rebounding, size inside and the shooters around them,” Hines said of the Lobos, who finished third in 14-6A last year. “We’ve come back from 17-, 18-point deficits before, so they have learned from coming back. They haven’t executed the complete comeback is the problem, but they’ll continue to get better at that. We made some big shots, caused some big turnovers late, so we’re definitely getting better.”
Bryan (8-5, 1-1) nearly pulled it off this time after forcing a Langham Creek turnover with less than 40 seconds left trailing 53-50, but junior post Rodney Johnson Jr.’s shot was off the mark, and Langham Creek’s Jalen Herndon nailed two free throws on the other end. Bryan got a pair of good 3-point shots from JD Smith, but both rattled around and out to end the Vikings’ hopes.
Langham Creek (6-9, 3-0) appeared to put the game out of reach in the third quarter, ending the period on a 10-3 run to push its lead to 47-33. But the Vikings quickly mounted their comeback attempt in the fourth, jumpstarted by a coast-to-coast layup and a free throw by Tereus Henderson. Following a Langham Creek turnover, one of 17 forced by the Vikings, sophomore Dylan Glover drained his fourth 3-pointer off a pump fake and step back to pull the Vikings within 47-39. With the Lobos playing tight defense to limit the 3 on the next possession, Smith found Johnson over the top for an easy layup.
Johnson hit a turnaround jumper a few possessions later, but the Lobos answered, finally breaking Bryan’s press for an easy layup by sophomore post Paul Oyewale. Chris Wiseman later hit a pair of free throws to extend the Lobos’ lead to 51-43 with 2:04 remaining.
But Johnson drew a foul and hit both free throws, and Glover stole the ball and scores to get Bryan within 51-47. After a layup by Langham Creek’s Ricky Crawford, Bryan junior Dom Caldwell hit a tightly-contested 3-pointer to send the Viking crowd into a frenzy and trim the Lobos’ lead to 53-50 with 47 seconds left.
“We have good games and bad games,” Hines said. “I’d say this was a good game against a really good team. I was really proud of their effort and how they battled back in the fourth quarter.”
The Vikings showed similar fight after the Lobos closed the first period on an 8-0 run to jump to an 18-9 lead. Glover scored 11 of his game-high 16 points in the second quarter, nailing a trio of 3-pointers to get Bryan within 28-23 at halftime.
“His shot was on today,” Hines said. “He was very confident going into the game, so he was feeling it. He definitely had the green light, and we like to see it.”
Caldwell scored 12 points, matching Glover’s four 3-pointers, and added two assists. Henderson scored 11 points to go with six rebounds and two assists, and Glover, Smith, Johnson and Xavier Duren each added a pair of assists.
Crawford led the Lobos with 14 points, while Herndon and Makale Mingo each added 12.
Bryan resumes 14-6A play when it hosts Bridgeland at 1 p.m. Dec. 31.
Langham Creek 56, Bryan 50
(Numbers after names represent field goals made, free throws made-attempted, points.)
LANGHAM CREEK (6-9, 3-0) — Ricky Crawford 5 0-0 14; Makale Mingo 4 1-2 12; Chris Wiseman 2 2-2 6; Jalen Herndon 2 6-8 11; Dejohn Jones 2 0-0 4; Paul Oyewale 4 0-0 8. TOTALS: 19 9-12 56.
BRYAN (8-5, 1-1) — Davon Castilleja 1 0-0 3; Rodney Johnson Jr. 2 2-2 6; Tereus Henderson 4 3-4 11; Dom Caldwell 4 0-0 12; Dylan Glover 6 0-0 16; Aleks Kalaouze 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 18 5-6 50.
Langham Creek 18 10 19 9 — 56
Bryan 9 14 10 16 — 50
Field goals: Langham Creek 19-46 (.413); Bryan 18-53 (.340). 3-pointers: Langham Creek 9; Bryan ... Click here to read full article
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