AREA BOYS HOOPS: TLCA Hold Firm in Second with Win Over Brady

BRADY, TX -- The TLCA Eagles soared over the Brady Bulldogs in a 62-50 win thanks to Harrison Ragan's stellar night. 

The Eagles started out the with the lead, in this ball game, and never looked back. Ragan and Isaac Gonzales' first quarter started big. They both worked off of each other to combine for 13 points to take a 19-11 lead after the first quarter. 

The job for the second quarter for the Eagles was to score from behind the arc. They managed to get all but two of their baskets from behind the three-point line. They extended their lead going into the half 34-23.

The Bulldogs came out of the half looking to fix their mistakes from the first half. They were able to outscore the Eagles by one. The run was not able to get them back in the game though as the Eagles held their lead 48-38. 

Ragan went into the fourth quarter will a killer instinct. He had seven points in the quarter, including one from behind the three-point line to help seal the win.

Ragan finished the game with 24 points. Jevon Everitt scored 14 points while Seth Levesque finished with 12.

TLCA (21-4, 9-1) will travel to Ballinger this Friday looking to hang on to their second place spot.

Brady (8-19, 4-6) falls into a tie with Sonora for fourth place. The Bulldogs will host Sonora this Friday.

Christoval Inches One Step Closer to Playoff Berth with Win Over Rival Eldorado

The Christoval Cougars took down their rival Eldorado Eagles 48-40 to inch closer to a playoff berth on Tuesday.

The story of the game was the first quarter where Christoval exploded for 22 points to take a 22-8 lead into the second quarter. Azul Salinas highlighted the spree with nine points for Christoval.

From there, Christoval had to hang on. Eldorado chipped away and got within 28-22 before the half behind eight points from Eric Reyes and a pair of three-pointers from Cesar Garcia.

Josh Fava then got into a rhythm for the Cougars, scoring 15 of their 20 points to close out the game and seal the win.

Fava finished with a game-high mark of 21 points. Salinas had 17 points for the Cougars.

Reyes had the team-high total for Eldorado with 14 points. Garcia also had 11 points.

Christoval moves to 4-4 in district play and will host Winters this Friday.

Eldorado falls to 5-3 in district play. They host Ozona this Friday.

Herrera's 36 Lifts Veribest into Playoffs

The Veribest Falcons booked their playoff spot with a 64-45 win over Blackwell Tuesday night. 

Dominic Herrera started off the falcons in the first quarter with a three-pointer as well as John Carlson, who made two consecutive threes to help the Falcons to an 18-11 lead after the first.  

Both teams team picked up their defense in the second quarter, Hornets continued to keep pressure on the Falcons. 

The Falcons only scored 15 points in the second quarter and the Hornets 14 as Veribest's lead grew to 33-25 at the half. 

At the start of the second half, the Falcons continued with good ball movement. Herrera capitalized on that with two more threes to help Veribest continue to grow their lead at 49-36. 

The Falcons kept their foot on the gas in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Hornets 15-9 to end the game. 

Dominic Herrera was leading scorer with 36 of the 64 points for the Falcons. Josh Bolin also hit double figures with 11 points for the Falcons.

Veribest moves to 7-3 in District 11-1A, two-and-a-half games ahead of fourth place Blackwell with two games left to play. The Falcons will host Sterling City this Friday.

Mason's Red-Hot Scoring Leads to Dominant Win

The Mason Punchers couldn't be stopped in a 73-32 win over the Center Point Pirates on Tuesday.

Mason jumped out in front quick, taking a 26-12 lead into the second quarter.

The Punchers would tack on another 17 points in the second to take a 43-19 lead into halftime.

Mason then outscored Center Point 30-13 in the second half to secure the win.

Ethan Powell highlighted the explosive night with 17 points. Cooper Padgett was the only other Puncher in double figures with 15 points.

Mason moves to 6-1 in District 27-2A. The Punchers face rival San Saba (5-1) on the road this Friday with district title implications on the line.

Hurst Bell Dampens Central's Playoff Outlook

The Central Bobcats got outsized in their loss against the 70-57 loss against the Hurst Bell Blue Raiders.

From the tip-off the Blue Raiders pounded the ball inside, scoring 10 points from the paint. They led at the end of the first quarter 19-9. 

The second quarter was more of an even game with both team scoring 10 points. The Bobcats slowed the pace by getting out of the press, and trying to run the offense to get open looks. Tristan Lopez and Hunter Gibbs each had five points in the first half as the Bobcats trailed 29-19. 

Coming out of the half the Bobcats caught fire by hitting four three-pointers in the quarter. Edward Zacharia really started to dominate the game in the third quarter. He had 10 points that came off of a ton of offensive and defensive rebounds. The blue raiders held their lead 54-39.

The majority of the fourth quarter was played by bench players with the game at hand. 

Gibbs had 12 points.

Zacharia had 22 points. 

Central (16-12, 5-6) holds in District 3-6A's fourth place. That's half a game ahead of fifth place Richland. They'll hope to clinch a playoff spot on Feb. 12 at Haltom.

Scores from around the area

• Snyder 62, Lake View 42
• Ballinger 59, Reagan County 51
• Forsan 69, Winters 45
• Miles 43, Ozona 42
• Irion County 43, Robert Lee 40
• Garden City 58, Rankin 50