Lake View Falls to Lubbock High, Capping off Frustrating Season

SAN ANGELO, TX—The Lake View Chiefs’ basketball season came to a close on Tuesday after a 70-52 loss to Lubbock High School in a game where the score didn’t quite tell the full story of the Chiefs’ physical season finale.

“On the floor we kept it clean. Both sides kept it clean on the floor,” second year Head Coach Courtney Bliskey said. “Their fans and our fans were chanting back and forth, like you want to hear in a basketball game. Then, hopefully, the boys in the box will focus on what’s in the box and keep playing hard.”

Lake View’s effort was never in question with seniors Isaiah English and Rudy Coronado leading the charge for the Chiefs.

Coronado was a defensive nightmare for the Westerners of Lubbock to navigate around, forcing turnover after turnover and scoring 12 points for the Chiefs.

“You’re talking about a young man that has been at every workout since last spring, summer and fall,” Bliskey commended of his 6-foot-4 center. “All three of those leagues, he was there for all of those games. He was at every workout this year, every Saturday workout. He was a kid that was totally, one-hundred percent committed to what we were doing. Rudy’s there. Every practice, every workout, everything he can be at he’s there.”

Coronado electrified the Ben Norton Gym late in the third quarter with a thunderous dunk over one of Lubbock High’s tallest players with an assist by junior point guard Dylan Hart.

English would finish the night as Lake View’s leading scorer with 27 points on a night where Lubbock High struggled to guard the Chief’s senior small forward.

However, the Chiefs would struggle to get the better of the Westerners and trailed throughout most of the game.

Midway through the second quarter, after trailing 17-10 to open up the period, the Chiefs would cap off an 8-1 run to tie the game at 18. A 9-4 run by Lubbock High would give the Westerners the 27-22 lead at the break.

“The offensive possessions in that first half we were very patient with,” Bliskey said of his team’s execution of the offense. “I think we only tried to force the ball in twice. We were moving the ball well. Our patience was good.”

Out of halftime, the Westerners would get a much needed lift from senior point guard Isaiah Thomas who drained four three-pointers, including a third quarter buzzer beater, and scored half of Lubbock’s 28 points in the third quarter to give them a massive 55-35 lead heading in to the final period.

“[Lubbock] came out and that Isaiah kid for them just knocked down threes,” Bliskey said. “They hit 33 points off threes and we missed 22 points in the paint. You take the mathematics on that and it equals an excellent win for Lubbock High, you know. Coach [Matt] Embry has done a great job with those kids and pushing them. He holds the same expectations for his kids that I hold.”

The Chiefs would make a run and narrow the deficit to as few as 12 points in the fourth quarter amidst the jeers from Lubbock fans.

“We made that run there in the last two-and-a-half minutes and the next thing you know [Coach Embry] had to bring in his starting five and they went on a run,” Bliskey recalled. “But you’ve got to give it up to those guys. [Lubbock] played hard. They deserved every ounce of that win.”

The loss meant Lake View would finish the season 5-26 and 1-9 in District 4-5A. It was also the final game for Coronado, English, Henry Nickias and Tyre Thomas.