UIL Boys' Basketball Regional Playoffs
Borderland Teams
Steven Howard
Editor of Fieldhouse Sports Entertainment Network 04 March 2020 | 3:40 PM
El Paso, TX: Last night, the three (3) remaining Borderland boys' high school basketball teams were in action. As such, two (2) of the three (3) were playing head to head. Andress High School and Eastlake High School squared off last night for an opportunity to advance to the Elite 8 of the UIL Boys' Basketball Playoffs. And this game did not disappoint.
In what turned out to be a game of wills, Eastwood just wanted it more than Andress. Coming into the game, is was imperative that Eastwood take care of the basketball and minimize turnover. Additionally, they would need to minimize the opportunities that Andress would have in transition. Their goal, make it a halfcourt game of basketball and execute. And Eastwood was able to do this for almost the entire night.
On the otherside of the ball, Andress needed to get out into transition, push the tempo of the ball game, and to try and force Eastwood to play faster than they wanted to play. Their were moments when it appeared that Andress was going to be able to do just that, but for some reason they minimized the amount of times that they would pick up in full court pressure and seemed to be content with allowing Eastwood to execute and play the game at their pace. This was a strategy that came back to haunt Andress.
Going into the half, Eastwood held a 21 - 16 lead. You could get a sense that Eastwood was very confident in this fact and the players from Andress looked shocked that it was tied going into the half. Andress did make a run in the 3rd period and started the 4th period tied at 30 - 30. The 4th quarter saw Eastwood make some adjustments that Andress was not able to overcome. That and timely 3-point shots helped to seal the deal. Led by the play of players off the bench (#23: Zaid Hernandez -- 7-points in the second half; #5: George Garcia -- steady ball handelling; and Luke Custer defense and rebounding with some timely scoring) and the play of starters Brandon Reyes (#32 with some big 3-pointers and timely shooting) and Mitchell Martinez (#44 scoring punch and defensive efforts), Eastwood was able to pull away from Andress in the 4th quarter for a final winning score of 51 to 41.
Eastwood High School (29-7) now will now play Centennial High School (31-6) on Friday, March 6, 2020 at 6:00 pm in the Sweet 16 of the UIL Boys' 5A Basketball Playoffs. The game will take place at the Coliseum Located in Snyder, TX.
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In other action for Borderland teams, Clint High School Boys' Basketball team continues it march through the State Playoffs with a 60 - 47 win over Levelland High School. In doing so, Clint was able to get revenue for last years loss in the Regional Quater Finals to Levelland. Jumping out to an 18 to 9 lead at the end of the first quarter, Clint maintined this lead going into the 4th quarter up by 8-points leading 40 - 32.
Clint High School Boys' Basketball team (28-5) will now play Argyle High School (24-4) on Friday, March 6, 2020 at 6:00 pm in the Sweet 16 of the UIL Boys' 4A Basketball Playoffs. The game will take place at the Lubbock Christian University Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, TX.
Steven Howard is the editor for Fieldhouse Sports and Entertainment, where he will write articles on youth and high school
sports, recruiting, and sports programs. He is also the President of Pathway 2 College LLC, Co-Chair of P2C Athlete Prep, and
Co-owner of EBH Fitness LLC where he runs Howard Family Media Group (Fieldhouse SEN, Fieldhouse+, Howard Family
Productions, and The Music Box). He is also the host of the Borderland Sports Report.
