Sweetwater boys stave off late run from Snyder; Lady Tigers crush Lady Mustangs

SWEETWATER - The Sweetwater boys basketball team needed every second of Tuesday’s game against Snyder to earn its first district win.

The Mustangs escaped with a 44-41 win after giving up an 18-1 run in the fourth quarter. Sweetwater forced a missed 3-pointer on Snyder’s final possession to ice the game.

“We kind of panicked for a little bit. But at the end of the day, we hung in there and believed we could do it,” Sweetwater head coach Evan Grantham said.

Sweetwater went into the fourth quarter with all the momentum.

The Mustangs led the entire game and held Snyder scoreless for the first 10 minutes. They coasted to the fourth quarter, leading 41-23 with seven minutes left.

But the Tigers found life midway through quarter.

They quickly closed the gap, scoring a few easy baskets off Sweetwater turnovers. Snyder’s up-tempo pace changed the flow of the game and helped the Tigers steal the momentum, scoring 15 unanswered points.

They trailed by three until Sweetwater’s Harrison Foster sunk a free throw to make it 42-38 with 1:30 left.

The Tigers weren't done. Snyder guard Jacob James nailed a 3-pointer in the corner to cut Sweetwater’s lead to one, and the Tigers forced a travel on the Mustangs’ next possession.

But when it was needed most, Sweetwater’s defense stepped up. Senior guard Armando Torres stole the ensuing inbounds pass and scored an easy two points on a layup with 11.1 seconds left.

“Armando made a big play,” Grantham said. “I said, ‘Hey, who’s going to make the play?’”

Down 44-41, Snyder had one last possession. The Tigers fired a contested look from deep that went off the back iron of the rim, and nobody was able to corral a rebound in time for another shot.

Snyder head coach Lee Scott hoped his team would get an easier attempt.

“We didn’t get the look we wanted, and it just didn’t go in,” Scott said.

While key defensive stops allowed the Mustangs to win, poor free-throw shooting almost cost them. They went 1-of-9 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.

“We’re going to shoot free throws all practice long,” Grantham said. “That was hard to watch. We’re better shooters than that, so we have to get some confidence back.”

Stason Hernandez led the Mustangs with 14 points, while Torres chipped in with 11. Snyder’s Eber Murillo led the Tigers with 20 points.

Sweetwater had lost 76-34 to Estacado to open district play on Friday. The victory Tuesday gives bragging rights to Sweetwater in a rivalry that Snyder has dominated in recent memory.

“It’s huge,” Grantham said. “Getting this win against our rival is really big for our confidence, but we just needed a win.”

For Snyder, the loss is disappointing. Scott knows his team could have won if it played like it did in the fourth quarter for the entire game. It also drops Snyder to 0-2 in district.

But he believes it will fuel his team going forward.

“It’s pretty motivating, and I hope we learn from it,” Scott said. “We have to be tough, and we’re going to find out quickly who wants to buy in and who doesn’t.”

DISTRICT 3-4A BOYS

Sweetwater 44, Snyder 41

Snyder ... 0 ... 12 ... 9 ... 20 — 41

Sweetwater ... 12 ... 13 ... 11 ... 8 — 45

Snyder (8-15): Eber Murillo 7 5-6 20, Dyllan Angeley 2 5-7 9, Jared Smith 2 0-0 5, Jacob James 1 0-0 3, Brandt House 0 2-2 2, Hunter Stewart 0 0-0 0, Adan Martinez 0 0-0 0, Maverick Hernandez 0 0-0 0, Easton Stewart 0 0-0 0, Zach Meador 0 0-0 0.

Sweetwater (15-10): Stason Hernandez 5 0-0 14, Armando Torres 5 0-4 11, Harrison Foster 3 1-3 8, Jadyn Forbes 2 0-0 4, Damarrius Walker 2 0-2 4, Malik Brown 1 0-0 2, Brendin Atkins 0 0-0 0, Greg Paty 0 0-0 0, Chris Avila 0 0-0 0, Korda Moore 0 0-0 0.

Snyder girls coast past Sweetwater

Snyder’s girls team had no trouble against Sweetwater, winning 58-28. The win was the Lady Tigers’ first in district play.

They set the tone early with a 10-0 run to start the game. That turned into a 22-2 lead with a few minutes left in the first half.

“I think that was pressure from our defense,” Snyder head coach T’Leah Eicke said. “We picked up a full-court press, and that’s one of our strengths. It was a good game for us.”

Sweetwater played its best basketball in the third quarter, when the Lady Mustangs scored 11 points. But at that point, it was too late. The Lady Mustangs still trailed 40-17 heading into the fourth quarter.

It was a well-spread scoring effort for Snyder. Taryn Nobles, Averie Johnson and Bethany Avalos tied for the most points with 10 apiece, while Iverie Castillon had nine. Alissa Garza led the Mustangs with eight points.

Snyder, 14-13 overall, 1-3 district, will face San Angelo Lake View on Friday.

“For us, it’s always been a rivalry between us and Sweetwater, and it’s nice to get that win,” Eicke said. “Hopefully it will build good momentum.”

The Lady Mustangs are 0-19, 0-3. They will play against Big Spring on Friday.

DISTRICT 3-4A GIRLS

Snyder 58, Sweetwater 28

Snyder ... 13 ... 15 ... 12 ... 18 — 58

Sweetwater ... 2 ... 4 ... 11 ... 5 — 28

Snyder (14-13): Bethany Avalos 5 0-1 10, Taryn Nobles 3 2-2 10, Averie Johnson 4 2-2 10, Iverie Castillon 4 0-2 9, Jalee Guerrero 3 0-0 8, Amy Martinez 1 2-2 5, Jayci Medrano 1 0-1 2, Abby Benitez 1 0-0 2, Kirsten Luera 1 0-0 2, Avery Murray 0 0-0 0, Peyten Grope 0 0-0 0.

Sweetwater (0-19): Alissa Garza 3 2-2 8, Aunisti Griffin 2 2-5, 6, Kendall Daniel 0 5-8 5, Hanna Vera 1 1-2 3, Marissa Garcia 0 0-0 0, Abriana Cree 0 0-0 0.

Carson Field is the area sports reporter for the Abilene Reporter-News. He covers primarily Big Country high school sports. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to reporternews.com.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Sweetwater Mustang boys survive scare from Snyder Tigers