Steers pull even with Sudan

FARWELL — After getting their emotions under control, the Farwell Steers found out they were more than capable of playing with Sudan.

Plagued by cold shooting and turnovers early, Farwell began to work its way back into the game late in the half, then dominated the final two quarters to whip the Hornets 67-48 Friday night and pull into a tie for the lead in District 3-1A boys basketball.

If it stays tied after Tuesday’s final regular-season games, Farwell (21-6, 8-1 district) and Sudan (22-5, 8-1) will meet for the district title at 8 p.m. (CST) Friday in Littlefield.

Both teams are guaranteed postseason berths.

Junior center Tyler Myers scored 18 points and senior forward Grant Gregory added 11 for the Steers, who outscored Sudan 54-25 after twice falling 10 points behind in the second quarter.

“At the start, I think we were just anxious to get out and run,” Myers said. “I think we just got kind of careless.

“But it was a total team effort; we played with a lot of heart. We just wanted to win this game.”

Sudan scored the game’s first five points, then rode a 9-0 run to a 19-9 cushion early in the second period.

“When they went up 10, coach (Kirk Saul) called a timeout and got us fired up,” Myers said. “We went out and did what we needed to do.”

At one point, Farwell had 16 turnovers to just three for the Hornets. But Sudan began to break down, and the Steers closed to 28-27 with the final five points of the half.

“We just went cold,” Hornets coach Mike Warren said. “They just really outrebounded us; they have more size than we do. I think we just wore down.”

The teams traded the lead for two minutes when play resumed before an 8-0 Steers surge — featuring a basket apiece by four players — turned the tide. Leading by 10 points, Farwell got a desperation 3-pointer from backup post Jose Cabello as time expired in the third quarter.

Sudan never got closer than 13 points in the final stanza.

“I think we weathered the storm in the first half,” Saul said. “We made that run (late) in the second quarter, and I think that carried right on into the third quarter.”

Junior guard Kade Gaston led the Hornets with 13 points, while senior post Jeramee Smith added 11.

“Gaston and (Michael) Warren (the coach’s son) never got hot,” coach Warren said. “We got beat by a good team; they just outplayed us.”

Farwell avenged a six-point loss at Sudan the first time around in district play.

“We felt like we didn’t play our best game at Sudan,” Saul said. “But they’ve got a good team with a lot of weapons. Our bench play was big tonight.”

Farwell used its superior depth to outscore Sudan’s subs 27-2. Cabello finished with nine points while junior guard Robbie Tabb, scoreless through three quarters, hit two 3-pointers and tallied eight points in the final period.