Apaches split Holiday Break games with district approaching

The Gonzales varsity boys basketball team split a handful of competitive games over the Christmas Break while competing in the Luling Tournament and against La Grange Tuesday night.

The Apaches defeated Karnes City 58-41 to snap the Badgers’ five-game winning streak on Dec. 29 and went on to knock off Industrial 38-36 at the buzzer after a thrilling comeback effort. Gonzales lost a heartbreaker to SMHS 65-62 in overtime and fell to a quality travel team from Blackburn Australia 48-42.

On Tuesday, the Apaches took on three-time defending district champion La Grange and gave the Leopards everything they could handle for two and half quarters before running out of gas offensively and falling in a 43-29 finish.

“It’s been a little bit of a rollercoaster over the break - we’ve had moments of greatness and moments that have forced us to step back and re-evaluate some things,” Gonzales head coach Brady Keane said. “We’ve played some good basketball at times against some tough teams. Now it’s just about turning a corner and being more consistent in everything we do.”

Against Karnes City, senior Bill Greathouse had a breakout performance while connecting on seven 3-point shots to finish with 21 points and two assists. Junior Damion Hunt had 14 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five steals, senior David Clack had eight points and three rebounds, junior Bryce Eleby had five points and six rebounds and senior Danny Goodman had five points and six rebounds in the win.

“Bill was locked in from the opening tip and we did a great job of getting him the ball,” Keane said. “When he’s shooting with confidence, it opens the floor for everyone else, and I thought we played one of our more complete games of the season.”

In the buzzer-beating win over Industrial, the Apaches trailed by three with eight seconds remaining. Greathouse connected on a mid-range jump shot and was fouled to bring the game within one, and junior Tommy Barnes secured an offensive rebound on the missed free throw to keep Gonzales alive. After a timeout, the Apaches missed an open look at the game winner, but Hunt flew in from the perimeter and connected on an and-one offensive rebound put back with under a second remaining to push Gonzales in front 38-36.

Hunt finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals while Goodman had 11 points and eight rebounds. Junior Brealien Jones had six points and six rebounds.

“That was truly a defensive battle, and it showed a lot of heart from our guys to find a way to score five points in seven seconds to get the win,” Keane said. “We didn’t panic, we kept attacking and Damion made a great play at the buzzer. It was a lot of fun and a great example of what happens when we work together as a team from start to finish.”

In a rematch from the Goliad Tournament against SMHS, the Apaches controlled the game for a majority of the first three quarters before having to fight through a barrage of 3-point makes from the Panthers late in the second half. SMHS led by five with a minute left before two points from Jones and a 3-pointer from Hunt tied the game with under 10 seconds to go to send the game to overtime.

The teams went back and forth in overtime, but SMHS eventually had the ball last and made a play at the rim with under 10 seconds remaining to secure the win.

“We did everything we needed to get a win outside of taking care of business at the free throw line,” Keane said. “We’ve got to clean things up at the line to avoid giving away one possession games while leaving easy points off the board.”

In the tournament finale against Blackburn, second-half mistakes killed the Apaches as the Australians were able to pull ahead for the first time in the fourth quarter and hang on for the 48-42 win. Hunt had 24 points and four steals, sophomore Jayvion Gonzalez had nine points, four rebounds and four assists and Goodman had five points and three rebounds.

After another few days off for New Years, the Apaches returned to action against La Grange Tuesday night. The Leopards, who are ranked No. 5 in Central Texas among Class 4A teams by the Austin Sports Journal, narrowly pulled away in the second half of a 43-29 finish.

Gonzales, playing without three key varsity contributors, stepped up and set the tone defensively while holding La Grange to just 15 points in the first half. Foul trouble forced the Apaches’ ballhandlers to the bench early in the third, and Gonzales struggled to maintain pace offensively despite holding the Leopards well below their season scoring average.

“I was extremely impressed with our defensive intensity against a good team Tuesday night,” Keane said. “As a team, I think everything about that game was a great learning experience. We had to fight through a ton of adversity, and we never blinked. Our shots weren’t falling and we struggled a little bit offensively, but I don’t think there’s any question our defense is moving in the right direction.”

The Apaches will be back in action at home Friday at 5:00 pm against Sinton before traveling to take on state-ranked No. 10 Wimberley on Monday in the final non-district game of the year. Gonzales will open district play at home against San Antonio Kennedy next Friday.

“Obviously, we are battle tested,” Keane said. “We’ve played elite competition and that’s going to pay off as we head into district if we build on the positives we’ve seen and eliminate distractions. We talk a lot about ‘Deserving Victory’ and we have to carry ourselves in a way that is deserving of victory both on and off the court all the time if we want to reach the goals we’ve set for ourselves.”