The Skyline Newspaper

Roderick Gunter, freshman guard, faces the tough Concordia defense. Photo by Jason Hennington

Lobo Basketball Gets Tripped Up by Concordia and Mary-Hardin Baylor

Men's

Despite prolific scoring from reserve Roderick Gunter, Sul Ross State University fell short in road contests at Concordia University (92-82 Thursday, Jan. 24) and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (88-76 Saturday, Jan. 26).

Coach Greg Wright's Lobos, 6-11, 5-8 ASC West Division, host Hardin-Simmons University, 10-7, 9-4 Thursday, Jan. 31, 5:30 p.m., then play McMurry University, 8-9, 5-8 Saturday, Feb. 2, 3:00 p.m. at the Gallego Center.

Concordia used a late 14-4 run to take control of a tight contest Thursday , despite 24 points from Gunter, Houston Westside. Gunter poured in 30 points at UMHB, but Tilmon Gaddy's 26 points and Ryan Burgart's seven blocked shots offset the effort.

At Austin Thursday, the Tornados reeled off six straight points in 45 seconds to turn a 74-72 deficit to a four-point edge with 4:46 to play. Three-pointers by Reza Farahani and Tino Maxwell offset a pair of hoops by Fili Torres, Clint, and established an 84-78 lead with 3:20 left.

Brad Walker's dunk built an 88-80 edge with 1:28 to play, and the Tornadoes, 9-6, 6-5 ASC West, used four free throws to build the final double-digit margin.

The lead see-sawed through the first 35 minutes. Jermaine Packer's, Midland Lee, layup at the buzzer forged a 41-41 halftime tie. The Lobos led by nine points early, but never by more than three in the second half.

Gunter netted 24 points off the bench, sinking nine of 11 shots from the floor. Torres added a double-double with 14 points and as many rebounds, adding three blocked shots. Moises Morales, Fort Hancock netted 13 points and grabbed six rebounds as the Lobos held a 41-30 margin on the boards. Packer had 12 points, Ricky Aguilar, El Paso Franklin, nine and Art Gonzalez, El Paso Eastwood, contributed six assists.

Sul Ross sizzled from inside the arc, drilling 64 percent (28-44), while shooting 53 percent (32-61) overall. The Lobos were hampered by 28 turnovers and made four of 17 three-point tries and 14 of 21 at the foul line.

Concordia shot 50 percent (32-64), eight of 15 from long range and 20 of 32 at the line. Maxwell scored 21 points and Walker 19 to lead four players in double figures.

UMHB extended a 36-29 halftime edge as Gaddy supplied the offense and Burgart swatted away Lobo shots. Gaddy's dunk built a 72-51 lead with 7:31 to play.

Gunter tallied 19 second-half points, 16 in the last seven minutes to help his team narrow the final margin. The 6-2 freshman finished with 11 field goals in 21 attempts and added seven of eight free throws, but no teammate reached double figures. Torres just missed a second double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Gonzalez scored eight, Jimmy Martinez, El Paso Andress, seven and Morales and Anthony Miller, Amarillo High, six each.

The Lobos hit 26 of 68 field goal attempts, 38 percent, four of 17 threes and 20 of 24 free throws, grabbing 39 rebounds.

Gaddy led three Crusaders in double figures, while two others tallied nine points. The winners shot 52 percent (28-54) and added 28 of 35 free throws.

Lobo tracks...Torres (12.1 ppg) and Gonzalez (12.0) to lead the scoring, while Gunter now averages 9.9 points per outing.....Torres is averaging 7.6 rebounds and Packer 4.6, along with 7.8 points....Abe Ely, El Paso Hanks, has missed several games with an injury, but has a 10.7 scoring mark....Gonzalez has 61 assists, Aguilar 36 and Miller 32....Sul Ross is shooting 76 percent (209-309) at the foul line.

Women's

Long, unanswered runs by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Concordia University spelled road losses for the Sul Ross State University women's basketball team.

UMHB reeled off 12 straight points en route to a 39-23 halftime edge and 82-52 victory at Belton Saturday, Jan. 26. Concordia launched a 14-0 run to snap an early 8-8 tie and coasted to a 72-52 win over the Lady Lobos in Austin Thursday, Jan. 24.

Sul Ross, 6-10 overall, and 5-8 in American Southwest Conference West Division action, faces Hardin-Simmons University, 14-3, 11-2 ASC West, Thursday, Jan. 31, 5:30 p.m., then meets McMurry University, 16-1, 13-0, Saturday, Feb. 2, 1:00 p.m.

Kassandra Bills scored a game-high 26 points, adding seven rebounds, three assists and four steals for the Lady Tornados, 9-7, 7-5, in Thursday's contest. Jennifer Herman added 17 points and Kerrie Carter supplied 13 points and 10 rebounds as Concordia cruised to a 39-19 halftime advantage.

Bills drained successive three-pointers to open the second session to help her team build a 52-20 advantage, their largest of the game.

Brittany Hatch's, Richardson Pearce, three-pointer with 3:11 left pulled Sul Ross within 19, 69-50, and a late hoop by Nitra Woods cut the margin to 70-52. Morgan Johnson, Christoval, was the only Lady Lobo in double figures, netting 10 points. Woods added seven points and 10 rebounds, Hatch scored nine and Isela Garza, El Paso Eastwood, seven. Janice Mitchell, Round Rock Stony Point, added six points and four assists.

Sul Ross shot 48 percent from the floor (23-48), but committed 25 turnovers and were out-rebounded 39-34.

UMHB, 9-7, 7-5, broke open a one-point contest with 12 unanswered tallies over a seven-minute span Saturday.
Eight Lady Lobo turnovers in the span aided the Lady Crusader cause, as they turned a 22-21 margin into a 34-21 bulge.

UMHB, leading 39-23 at intermission, used a 19-4 spurt to open a 58-27 gap with 14:20 left.

Mitchell scored a game-high 17 points and added four assists and four steals. Woods contributed 10 rebounds and Hatch tallied seven points. The Lady Lobos meshed just 27 of their field goal tries (18-66), including four of 14 three-point attempts, and committed 26 turnovers. They grabbed 40 rebounds and netted 12 of 15 free throw attempts.

UMHB landed six players in double figures, hitting 31 of 66 shots for 47 percent. The winners converted 14 of 18 free throws, six of 19 three-pointers and snared 48 rebounds.

Lobo tracks...Woods continues to pace the team in scoring (12.1 points per game) and rebounds (8.8)....Mitchell averages 10.9 points per game and has a team-high 59 assists.