Mustangs rally past Wildcats in second half in intra-county tilt

The Nixon-Smiley Mustangs returned home Friday, Jan. 3 for a intra-county match against the Waelder Wildcats.

The Mustangs and the Wildcats were in a neck-to-neck battle in the first three quarters; the Wildcats closed out the first half with a five-point lead against Nixon-Smiley.

Wildcats head coach Mary Cruz Gonzales was proud of her team’s performance against the Mustangs.
“We played well as a team in the beginning We still have a couple things or a few things to work on but we'll get better as we have more practices together,” Gonzales said.

The Mustangs would take control of the fourth quarter, outscoring Waelder, 18-7, and securing the 63-49 win.

“Tale of two halves. I mean, unfortunately, I'm always leery of that after the break, kids coming back and, you know, being away from us for a while, and then they try to get themselves back into it. So that first half, we're sleepwalking,” Mustangs head basketball coach Carlton McKinney said.

The Mustangs underestimated Waelder and that mindset is not what McKinney is looking for heading into district.

“Fortunately enough, we were able to turn it on in the second half and change the attitude. But we can't let that happen. We're getting ready to start district, so we can't underestimate anybody,” McKinney said.

The Mustangs will conclude their non-district schedule against Randolph Tuesday, Jan. 7 and will open district play against Stockdale on the road Friday, Jan. 10.

“I think it's ideal for us. I mean, Randolph is a very common opponent. They've been in our district for the last, you know, at least six years, so our kids are very familiar. They're going to be solid a good basketball team, which prepares us for Stockdale. Stockdale goes young but they are going to play hard, they're going to run their stuff, the coach has done a great job with those kids. So it's a good test for us, just like tonight was as far as us preparing for our district,” McKinney said.

The Wildcats will open up district against Prairie Lea Friday, Jan. 10.

The Nixon-Smiley vs. Stockdale game tips off at 8 p.m. and Waelder vs. Prairie Lea game tips off at 7:15 p.m.