Malik Mason plays beyond size to help Brownfield boys snap Lamesa's 20-game win streak

BROWNFIELD — Game-to-game, Zayne McPherson knows his Brownfield Cubs will be the smaller team. It's a situation the coach has navigated plenty with a roster featuring one 6-footer.

In fact, Brownfield starting center Malik Mason is listed at 5-10. One wouldn't know based on his production.

The undersized senior made his presence felt Friday, jostling with the bigger, taller Lamesa posts in an early district boys basketball showdown. Mason came away with a double-double to power the Cubs to a 62-46 victory at The Pit that snapped the Golden Tornadoes' 20-game winning streak.

Mason finished with a team-high 15 points and 11 rebounds. The performance was no surprise to McPherson, even with Lamesa trotting out three players 6-2 or taller, including 6-4, 305-pound Sean Zapata.

After all, the coach has seen it done before.

"How Malik goes, we go," McPherson said. "I think his deal is if he can get his hands on the ball. It's weird because we played Canyon and they're 6-7 and 6-8 and he still, especially in the first half, was able to just do that little tip that he does and still come up with the ball.

"He's very important to us, of course, as you see. When we take him out, we tend to struggle, so I'm glad he's in really good shape."

Lamesa's success started with its big man too, but foul trouble limited Zapata's time on the court. The senior fouled out with 10 points and five rebounds after helping the Golden Tors (20-2 overall, 2-1 district) claw back into the game. He had two buckets in the fourth quarter, the second coming off an offensive rebound to pull Lamesa within 49-46. The other field goal aided a 13-2 run to start the final stanza.

When Zapata exited with 3:15 remaining, the Cubs (10-10, 3-0) scored the final 13 points of the game to pull away.

Lamesa came running out of the gate and led 19-15 through eight minutes. But Brownfield backed off its full-court trap, which better suited the matchup. The Cubs limited the Golden Tors to 12 points in the second and third quarters combined.

"We thought we would be able to keep them in front of us and at least get some double-team opportunities," McPherson said, "and obviously we could not. So we started falling back and just playing man (defense), and I think that helped us. We took a couple charges early, and I think that hurt their mentality of getting in the lane, made them a little bit more careful."

Luke Martinez tallied nine points and four rebounds, while teammate Shane Todd scored five of his eight points in the first quarter for Lamesa, which lost for the first time since the season opener Nov. 19.

Brownfield freshman Pedro Rodriguez hit four 3-pointers in a 14-point outing, adding seven rebounds and three assists. Jeron Lawrence also reached double figures with 11 points. Jojo Carrillo orchestrated the offense with a team-high five assists to complement eight points and six boards, while K.J. Carroll made the Cubs' other three 3s.

Ending the Golden Tors' lengthy streak was nice, but McPherson cared more that it kept his team unbeaten in a rough-and-tumble District 3-3A.

"Our goal is to be the district champ," McPherson said. "And to do that, we've got to protect our home court, so that was a big part of it. (Lamesa's) a really good team, and they do a lot of stuff that gives us a lot of trouble. But our kids stepped up today. … That's an important game for the district part of this stuff, because I don't know how many other teams in our district are going to get that one."

Golden Tors upset Lady Cubs for first district win

Despite his team's record, Lamesa girls basketball coach Trenton Jones felt good entering Friday's matchup with district-leading Brownfield.

Jones saw positives in Tuesday's loss to Denver City, which included an eight-point lead late in the game. Friday, the Golden Tornadoes put it all together.

Reagan Derington went for 10 points, five assists and five rebounds to spur Lamesa to its first district win, a 39-26 decision at The Pit. The result marked the Lady Cubs' first loss in 3-3A action.

"We built a lot of confidence off of that (Denver City) game," Jones said. "We had the best week of practice that I think we've had all year. We bonded; we went to the Texas Tech game and everything. I feel like our team is finally clicking. They're just coming together and just playing like a team, man."

Fashaa Edwards scored 11 of her game-high 13 points in the second half as the Golden Tors (10-14, 1-3) separated. The game was tied before Lamesa held Brownfield (11-14, 3-1) to 11 points after halftime.

In her second game back from injury, Derington set it all up. The first-year Golden Tors coach called the junior a "gamechanger." Jones is excited to see where the team can go after forging through a difficult first four games of district.

"Just a confidence-booster for us," Jones said, "especially since they were state champions two years ago. For my first district win to be against this great team, it means the world to me honestly."

District 3-3A

BOYS

Brownfield 62, Lamesa 46

Lamesa 19 6 6 15 — 46

Brownfield 15 12 18 17 — 62

Lamesa (20-2, 2-1) — Keeton Bolton 4, Richie Dimas 2, Robert Dimas 4, Pedro Barrioz 6, Braden Morales 3, Shane Todd 8, Luke Martinez 9, Sean Zapata 10.

Brownfield (10-10, 3-0) — Jojo Carrillo 8, George Rivera 2, Jayden Gonzales 1, K.J. Carroll 9, Jeron Lawrence 11, Pedro Rodriguez 14, Dylan Shrimpton 2, Malik Mason 15.

GIRLS

Lamesa 39, Brownfield 26

Lamesa 6 9 9 15 — 39

Brownfield 7 8 4 7 — 26

Lamesa (10-14, 1-3) — Reagan Derington 10, Audrey Rivera 2, Madison Derington 5, Fashaa Edwards 13, Meagan Hill 2, Laila Vasquez 3, Zoey Sifuentes 4.

Brownfield (11-14, 3-1) — Allie Coffey 2, Lucy Guzman 6, Kendal Huerta 1, Jaelyn Molina 6, Kaylynn Fininen 5, Amery Pauda 1, Kamryn Watkins 5.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Boys basketball: Malik Mason powers Brownfield past Lamesa to end streak