The Aubrey Chaparrals boys and girls basketball teams went on the road for a district matchup against Sanger, with Sanger taking the win in both contests Tuesday night.
The Aubrey Chaparrals jumped out to an early lead, but Sanger turned it into a seesaw affair with a strong shooting performance, ultimately taking the win in overtime, 70-63.
“We came out with a lot of energy and put pressure on them,” head boys basketball coach Kyle Smith said. “… We played well, but we missed some layups in the first half that could have given us a bigger lead, and it came down to [Sanger] making shots at the end, [and] they knocked down some tough ones.”
Aubrey came out clicking on all cylinders, stifling Sanger’s offense with tight defense and racing out to a 15-6 lead in the first quarter.
Sanger came alive in the second quarter, out- scoring Aubrey 22-11 and sending the teams into the half with Sanger leading 28-26.
“Hunter-Mack Nelms caught on fire for them,” Smith said. 'He’s a good player, but even during that run we missed a few fast break layups. Sometimes that’s tough on a team mentally and emotionally …, but that’s basketball, and we did a good job of regrouping.”
Aubrey went on a 13-12 run in the third quarter to make it a 1-point game at 40-39 going into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter was even more hotly contested, with Aubrey holding a three-point lead 5350 with under a minute left in the game.
Sanger senior forward Dylan Brown sunk a threepointer with less than 30 seconds left, tying the score at 53, which sent the game to overtime after Aubrey missed its shot at the buzzer.
Sanger eventually pulled away, hitting timely shots and taking advantage of the free throw line to take the 7063 victory.
Nelms led Sanger with 23 points, while Aubrey was led by senior guard Tyler Hightower, who finished with 17 points.
Aubrey also had big contributions from freshman guard Marquez Lucas and senior forward Jaedon Bogar, who both scored 12 points.
Despite the loss, Smith said he was proud of his team’s effort and that Chaps will be fine moving forward.
“Sanger deserved the win because they made big shots when they needed to, but I’m proud of our guys,” he said. 'Our guys played hard, and we’re going to be all right. We’ll bounce back. It's still going to be a tough, tough district, but we're going to compete every night.”
In the varsity girls game, the more experienced Sanger team overwhelmed Aubrey, securing the 53-27 victory.
“We played hard,” head girls basketball coach Nicole Black said. “We got outscored, but Sanger is a very good team, and anyone that can come out and hit nine 3s in a night, along with the inside presence they have, is going to be hard to beat.”
Sanger came out firing, jumping out to an early 10-3 in the first quarter, and never looked back.
The two teams went into the half with Sanger up 27-10.
Aubrey continued to play with energy in the second half, but Sanger continued to pull away behind a barrage of 3-pointer shots to take the 53-27 win.
Black said she was pleased by the tenacity the Lady Chaps demonstrated despite the score.
“That’s one thing that no one can take away from my girls; no matter what the scoreboard says, they’re going to go out there and give you everything you want,” she said. “They do it in practice, and they do it game in and game out. We had some letdowns because we’re still young and inexperienced, but their heart is going to take them where they need to be.”
Junior guard Margaret Conley paced the Lady Chaps’ offense, scoring 8 points on the night.
Black emphasized Aubrey’s young roster should improve with more games under their belts.
“At time, we played up to Sangers’ level,” she said. 'We went on a 10-9 run in the second quarter, and we have to figure out how to bottle that up and do it more consistently. We’re getting there, and that’s going to come with the experience as these guys play more varsity minutes.”
Both teams will face off with the rival Celina Bobcats at 12:30 p.m. Friday, with the Lady Chaps playing at home and the Chaparrals going on the road.
Aubrey guard Margaret Conley shoots over the Sanger defense. Sanger defeated Aubrey 53-27 Tuesday evening. Both of Aubrey’s varsity teams will face off with the rival Celina Bobcats at 12:30 p.m. Friday.
