District-leading Estacado boys pick up pace, bounce back with win over Snyder

Stephen Garcia, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
·4 min read

The Estacado boys basketball team showed Tuesday night how well it can respond.

Not only did the Matadors bounce back from a Friday loss, they did so by overcoming a second-place Snyder team that led late in the first half.

Like Estacado has throughout the season, the team used its waves of depth to get on track. That was enough to power the Matadors to a 62-46 home win over the scrappy Tigers to clinch at least a share of the District 5-4A title.

Behind post Dyllan Angeley's 10 points, Snyder (10-18 overall, 5-3 district) led by seven in the opening quarter. The lead got as high as 10, but as Angeley got into foul trouble, Estacado made its move.

The Matadors (19-16, 7-1) turned a 34-30 halftime edge into a double-digit lead through three quarters, and defense took care of the rest.

Estacado's Bobby Ross, left, blocks a shot by Snyder's Dyllan Angeley in a District 5-4A basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at Estacado High School.
Estacado's Bobby Ross, left, blocks a shot by Snyder's Dyllan Angeley in a District 5-4A basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at Estacado High School.

"We play a lot of guys, and I think you've got to have at least three good ball-handlers to play us," Estacado coach Tony Wagner said. "(Players) that can handle it consistently for an entire game, because we're going to run our entire bench at you the whole time. Those kids are gonna chase, chase, chase and chase.

"I just felt like their main ball-handler got tired there at the end. And their big kid (Angeley) got into some foul trouble, which I think was because he was a little winded as well. That's our strategy is to play teams hard and force them to play at our pace."

The Tigers managed 16 points in the second half, including six in the third quarter. Moses Stephenson knocked down three 3-pointers in the period as Estacado led 49-36. The sophomore finished with 16 points.

"He's gonna be a special player for Estacado for the next three years," Wagner said. "I just feel like sometimes he gets so down on himself that it hurts his confidence. I just told him today to relax, get out there and play as hard as you can. … And he did that. He played with a lot of confidence."

Estacado's Moses Stephenson dribbles the ball against Snyder in a District 5-4A basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at Estacado High School.
Estacado's Moses Stephenson dribbles the ball against Snyder in a District 5-4A basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at Estacado High School.

The Matadors fell 58-52 to Levelland on Friday — their first district loss. Wagner was proud of how his team avoided another letdown. Now, Estacado needs one win to make it an outright league championship.

"I just felt like last week we weren't focused like we should've been," Wagner said. "There was some adversity within our program that week. I thought that things have a way of working themselves out. We got refocused in the next two practices and then came out today and played better."

Lady Mats secure No. 2 seed with dominant win

The Estacado girls basketball team did not surrender a field goal for more than 20 minutes en route to a blowout victory in the regular-season finale.

The Lady Matadors (21-11, 8-2) wrapped up the district's No. 2 seed with a 69-19 win over Snyder on Tuesday. Estacado will face Brownwood in the Class 4A bi-district round next week. The Lady Tigers enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed and will face state-ranked Stephenville.

Estacado's Zykeya Hunt goes for a layup against Snyder in a District 5-4A basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at Estacado High School.
Estacado's Zykeya Hunt goes for a layup against Snyder in a District 5-4A basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at Estacado High School.

The Lady Mats led by 10 after the first quarter and put the game out of reach with a 17-0 run.

Snyder (16-17, 6-4) went up 3-2 in the opening minute but didn't make another basket until the 1:19 mark of the third quarter. By then Estacado led 49-10.

Jariah Murray led the Lady Mats with 11 points, and Zykeya Hunt added 10.

District 5-4A

BOYS

Estacado 62, Snyder 46

Snyder 19 11 6 10 — 46

Estacado 13 21 15 13 — 62

Snyder (10-18, 5-3) — Dyllan Angeley 18, Easton Stewart 15, Jared Smith 4, Jacob James 7, Kyler Groves 2.

Estacado (19-16, 7-1) — Devoryea Boyd 7, D.J. Johnson 2, Jamyzon Taylor 11, Tim Perez 8, Bobby Ross 4, Moses Stephenson 16, Dontae Boyd 8, Kamari Jones 4, Hez Williams 2.

District 5-4A

GIRLS

Estacado 69, Snyder 19

Snyder 5 2 3 9 — 19

Estacado 15 21 13 20 — 69

Snyder (16-17, 6-4) — Jayci Medrano 3, Aaliyah Braziel 3, Bethany Avalos 3, Amy Martinez 1, Jalee Guerrero 3, Addison Ulm 2, Arynne Vasquez 4.

Estacado (21-11, 8-2) — A'lireyia Mitchell 6, Jariah Murray 11, Ukiah Upshaw 8, Mia Alvarado 5, Tashawn Spence 7, Kayden Sherman 4, Addison Thomas 7, Tiona Duvall 3, Zani McMurray-Sanders 6, Zykeya Hunt 10, Lyfe Hamilton 2.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Estacado boys pick up pace, bounce back with win over Snyder