PREP BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Steers lose on buzzer-beater

Game of the night

Morton’s boys beat Farwell 46-44 in a Texas District 3-1A contest at Morton on late-game heroics by senior James Cornish.

Cornish grabbed a rebound and made a six-footer at the buzzer, his only points of the game, to give the Indians a win on senior night in Morton.

Cornish has missed the majority of the season due to an injured ankle suffered during football.

Cornish started, but pain in his ankle made him “puke his guts out” just over a minute into the game, Farwell assistant coach Jacob Thompson said.

The game was delayed for cleanup, and Cornish played only sparingly for the rest of the game.

Lance Kimbral scored a game-high 17 for Morton. Farwell (11-15, 3-3) was paced by Ty Gast with 13 and Derrick Chandler with 12.

Top performances

Girls

— Irma Rocha, Bovina, scored 17 points in her team’s 56-42 win over Hart in Texas District 3-1A.

— Jennifer Franklin, Grady, scored 20 points in the Lady Bronchos’ 60-53 non-district win at Fort Sumner.

— Schuyler Cochran, Melrose, scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers in a losing effort as the Lady Buffaloes lost to District 3-1A leader Elida 51-33.

— Brandi Wood, Muleshoe, led four players in double figures with 18 points in Muleshoe’s 73-27 rout of Brownfield in Texas District 2-3A.

Boys

— Trevor Turnbow, Muleshoe, scored 15 points to lead three Mules players in double figures in a 67-57 District 2-3A win over Brownfield.

— Carlos Ruiz, Melrose, scored 23 points and the Buffaloes rallied from a nine-point, first-quarter deficit to defeat Elida 65-60 in District 3-1A.

Not a one-man show

Playing without leading scorer Jeremy Gauna, Fort Sumner had no trouble with Grady, rolling to a 21-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and cruising to a 74-43 non-district boys win.

Senior Stephen Gallegos led Fort Sumner (15-3) with 22 points, while senior Brenton Williamson added 17 and senior Derek Dimitroff 10. The Foxes continued their recent success at the free throw line, going 13-for-17.

Gauna and his younger brother, Jarrod, were out of town due to a family emergency, Foxes coach Wes Weems said.

“We ran our offense real well and we got a lot of easy baskets on our transition,” Weems said.

Brian Blackburn scored 12 points and Steven Carter 11 for the Bronchos (10-10).

Points at a premium

Texico’s Wolverines (11-9), held to no points in the first quarter and just six in the opening half, got two third-quarter 3-pointers each from Courtland Luscombe and Curtis Williams to rally past Sudan 26-24 at Sudan.

With Texico leading by a point, Luscombe had a steal and an offensive rebound in the closing seconds to help preserve the victory over the Hornets (17-10). Williams finished with nine points for the Wolverines.

Go figure

3 — Free throw attempts by Hart in its game against Bovina. The Lady Longhorns made two of them.

8 — Consecutive postseason berths for the Muleshoe girls. The Lady Mules clinched a top-three finish in District 2-3A by beating Brownfield 73-27.

Quotable

“They’re better than us. Hopefully, our team can turn this into a positive.” — Texico girls coach Keith Durham, after his team’s 47-26 loss at Sudan.

— Compiled by CNJ staff