Ballinger Boys Edged in Final Minute by Roscoe

BALLINGER, TX — In an entertaining game from start to finish, the Roscoe boys basketball team held off a furious comeback attempt by Ballinger to hang on for a 63-57 win Friday.

Led by JJ Baez, who had a game-high 27 points, Ballinger erased a nine-point deficit in the final minutes to get within 59-57 after a Baez 3-pointer.

However, Roscoe’s Jerald Best, who led his team with 26 points, coolly hit 4 of 4 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Best knocked down six 3-pointers, and Roscoe finished with 12 as a team.

“We don’t always make a lot of them, but we shoot a lot of them,” Roscoe head coach Russell Best said. “I think we’re averaging 30-something (3-pointers) a game. When you’re vertically challenged, you’ve got to chunk them from the cheap seats.”

Roscoe improved to 18-4 overall and 3-0 in District 8-2A. Ballinger dropped to 10-12, 1-2.

The Bearcats couldn’t have asked for a better start as they stormed out to an 11-0 lead and kept Roscoe off the scoreboard for the opening 4:45 of the game.

Best hit four of his 3-pointers to fuel a comeback that got Roscoe within 16-14 early in the second quarter, and the Plowboys took a 31-29 lead into halftime.

Roscoe led by as many as 10 points late in the third quarter, but Ballinger got back to within 46-42 heading into the fourth quarter.

Ballinger head coach Jeff Holland was happy with his team’s performance despite the loss, which snapped a four-game winning streak.

“I thought we played like we had been the last four games, and we played pretty dang good the last four games. They just hit shots whenever they needed it,” he said. “We got in a lull there at the end of the first and let them get back in the game. We came out really hot.”

Baez had five 3-pointers for Ballinger, but the Bearcats only had six as a team.

Marcus Cook had 12 points and played some strong defense on the perimeter for Ballinger, while Hunter Kresta had 10 points and some highlight-reel blocks in the paint.

In addition to Best, Roscoe had three other players score in double digits. Aiden Brown had 15 points and was a force with his rebounding, while Braxton Smith and Jace Arnwine each had 10 points.

Roscoe will host Miles on Tuesday, while Ballinger will be home against Colorado City.