The Memorial Titans did not play their best game of the season in Tuesday night's District 21-5A basketball matchup with rival West Brook Bruins, who were really hungry for revenge after the 89-50 whipping Port Arthur put on Beaumont the last time the two teams met.

   West Brook was extremely effective in executing its game plan, which was to keep the pace slow and force Memorial coach Terrul Henderson to play a smaller lineup.

   In the end, however, the Titans did enough to claim the victory, topping West Brook 42-37 to improve their overall record to 24-3 and district mark to a league-best 8-0. With just two games remaining in the regular season, Memorial clinched their second straight league championship with Tuesday's win, which also gave the Titans a 3-0 slate against West Brook for the 2009-10 campaign.

   "That's what we're excited about," said Henderson after the win. "We were able to adjust to what they were doing. We got the win and solidified our first out-right district championship in school history (shared titles in 2003 and 2009). "You have to give them credit, you know.

   "They came in here wanting to get back at us and they had a good game plan. They went small. They wanted to play small ball but that's something we can do too. We adjusted, went with our smaller group, and got the win."  

  Memorial did not have one player reach double figures but eight players got involved in the scoring. Leading the way was Clarence Thomas, who tallied nine points to go along with three rebounds and three assists.

   Darius Harris and Wendell Pierre followed with seven points apiece. In limited action, Harris collected five rebounds, which was an area of the game the Titans did dominate, as they had 27 boards compared to West Brook's 16.

   Kaleb Sanders led Port Arthur in rebounding with eight and also had five points and two assists.

   Despite the close score, the lead changed hands just four times and was tied twice.

   The latter of those two occasions came after West Brook put together a 10-2 charge late in the fourth to knot the game at 37-37 with 1:01 remaining in the contest.

   Memorial forced the Bruins into a pair of turnovers and got a key rebound from Shaq White after West Brook missed a 3-point try while trailing 40-37 with under four seconds to play.

   White was fouled with one second remaining and went to the charity stripe where he knocked free throws down to seal any lingering hopes for Beaumont fans. 

   Once West Brook tied the game at 37, Port Arthur tallied the next five points at the foul line.

   Memorial held the lead for most of the night, as they took a 13-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Bruins drew first blood in the second period but Memorial went back up after a layup from Sanders with 6:38 left in the half. Port Arthur built on that lead with a 7-2 spurt at the end of the second, allowing the Titans to push their spread to 25-19 at the break.

   Neither team really accomplished anything in the third quarter, as West Brook only outscored Memorial 6-5 in that eight minute stretch.

   By the start of the fourth quarter, it appeared the Titans had enough of the Bruins pestering ways, as they picked up back-to-back buckets to extend their advantage to 34-25, the biggest lead of the game for either team.

  West Brook rallied back with the 10-2 run, which included a 7-2 spurt over 2:15 of the final frame.

  The Titans, which have won 17 straight district games dating back to the 2008-09 season, will travel to Channelview on Friday for their next matchup. District play will wrap up for Memorial on Tuesday with a home bout against Baytown Lee. 





Dogs top Lions 51-43 with big fourth quarter

NEDERLAND — The Nederland Bulldogs outscored Livingston 35-15 in the fourth quarter when they stole a victory from the Lions in Livingston in their first meeting this District 20-4A basketball season.

  Surely Livingston would not allow for that to happen again this season? Well, they did, as Nederland used a 26-14 advantage in the fourth quarter to overcome the Lions 51-43 on Tuesday night in the Dog Dome.

  Just like in that first matchup, Livingston held leads after the first, second and third quarters but could not seal the deal. Christian Stewart and Ryan Hadnot combined for 18 points in the fourth quarter. Hadnot, who had 13 points for the game, hit three 3-pointers in the second half, while Stewart scored 10 of his 12 points in the final frame.

  Kelvin Smith paced his team with 14 points and also had six rebounds in the win, which improved Nederland's record to 16-14 overall and 9-3 in district where the Dogs hold sole possession of second place.

  The Bulldogs fell behind 13-6 after one, but outscored Livingston 13-8 in the second period to cut the Lions lead to 21-19 by recess. The Lions won the third period 8-6 to stay in front, giving them a 29-25 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

  

Lumberton 57, PN-G 56

PORT NECHES — The Port Neches-Groves Indians can hardly catch a break this basketball season and Tuesday night was no different, as the visiting Lumberton Raiders hit a shot with five seconds left to win the game 57-56.

   PN-G has lost five straight contest in District 20-4A action, dropping a pair of two-point games to Livingston and Lumberton, suffered a double-overtime loss at Nederland and came up short in a four-point decision against Vidor on Friday.

   The latest of these heartbreaking defeats has moved PN-G's record to 16-12 overall and 4-8 in district play. The Tribe will travel to Beaumont on Friday to square off with the Ozen Panthers.

   Lumberton had three players reach double figures in scoring but the Indians' Connor Manuel produced a game-high 17 points. Brennan Doty followed with 14 and teammate Christian Kerr rounded out PN-G's top scorers with nine.

   Tim Cervantes had 15 and Kris Koch and Ryan Dunkelberger each had 14 for the Raiders, who outscored the Tribe 24-22 in the second half. The Indians held a 34-33 edge at the break after outscoring the Raiders 22-18 in the second frame.



Sabine Pass 72, Evadale 62

NEDERLAND — Living off the merits of a huge first half, the Sabine Pass Sharks survived Evadale 72-62 on Tuesday night at Nederland's Competition Gym, a place the Sharks have yet to lose since Hurricane Ike forced them to take up residence in Bulldog Country for basketball and volleyball games.

   With Tuesday's result, Sabine Pass and Evadale records are now level in District 25-1A at 6-2. The win also moved Sabine Pass, which outscored Evadale 45-32 in the first half, to 14-9 overall. 

   The two teams were nip and tuck in the second half with Evadale holding a small 30-27 advantage over the latter two periods.

   But the trifecta of Drew Carlos' 22 points, Reginald Wasson's 21 points and Felix Jones 14 points prove to be too much for Evadale in the end.

    The Sharks will return to Nederland on Friday where they will host High Island.