02-23-2013-Weekend - Wise County Messenger

WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Saturday, February 23, 20139BBASKETBALLGreyhounds slip against EctorJOE DUTY/WCMESSENGERYOUNG COMMIT — Drew Jones overlooks The Resort GolfClub on Eagle Mountain Lake where he fired a 63 in July.resh: Austin boundContinued from page 1Bcome along very often.“We are very, very blessedand thrilled with what hashappened.”He had a club in his handat the age of 2—and was regularlyplaying in the backyardwith his dad at 5. Jonesnow practices four to fivehours a day.At the age of 7, he staredworking with his currentswing coach, Teddy Ashcraft,who says the lefty is one of thebest young golfers he’s seen.“He’s got an extremeamount of natural ability,”Ashcraft said. “He’s got a lotof confidence, very competitive,but at the same time he’snot cocky.”Ashcraft has played onnumerous professional toursand brings a lot of insightand experience to the table.Within the first year, he knewhe was working with someonespecial who has amazingpotential.“The sky’s the limit. Hehandles things really well,”Ashcraft said. “It bothers himif he doesn’t play well. He’s gotan excellent work ethic and isextremely goal oriented.”Jones says he never wouldhave gotten this far, this fast,without his coach’s help.“I couldn’t have done itwithout him,” Jones said. “Ihad some talent, but I neededsome help. Having him as myswing coach helps a lot.”There were other big programsinterested in Jones,and he has always been told tokeep his options open. Being aTexas fan growing up and gettingoverwhelmed during hisvisit, the decision to get therecruiting process out of theway was an easy one.If Texas was going to offer,he knew he was going to accept.“I grew up liking Texas, so itwas going to always be Texas,”he said.Now that Jones has madethe history-making commitment,he has to deal with thestigma that comes with it. Decaturbegan their spring highschoolgolf schedule this week.For four more years he willbe the phenom among his opponentswho has a target onhis back. It’s a situation Joneshas put a lot of thought into.“You’ve got to back it up,”Jones said. “When you hearnames that have done this— it’s been intimidating forme. I do think it’s a big bonusthough, getting this processoff my back.”It’s a lot to put on a kid whois two years away from havinga driver’s license, but Ashcraftsays Jones welcomes the pressure.“He understands it. I toldhim when he got back that hehas a target on his chest now,and he said he likes it,” Ashcraftsaid. “He doesn’t look atit as ‘I’ve made it.’ He doesn’tjust want to play at Texas; hewants to be the best player atTexas.“His sights are high, and heis a phenomenal young man.”ment this weekend in Stephenville.It’s the second straightseason Alvord will be makingthe trip to the regionaltournament, two wins awayfrom a trip to state.“We’ve been there. Weknow what to expect,” Alvordcoach Rob Schmuckerexplained. “We just keepknocking on that door, andpretty soon it should startcracking.”After a dreadful start onthe defensive side of thecourt, a switch to zone in thesecond quarter allowed Alvordto climb back to withintwo at halftime, after trailingby as many as six in the firsthalf.The Lady Bulldogs rodethat momentum into thethird quarter, opening the periodon a 7-0 run capped off bya Marissa Schedcik 3-pointer.“They were on fire,”Schmucker said about Godley’sfirst quarter. “They werehitting a lot of open shots andcontested shots.“Despite as bad as the firsthalf was for us, we were inBY DAVID HAUSMANThe Slidell Greyhoundsmade a valiant comebackattempt against the staterankedEctor Eagles Tuesdaynight, but the early hole theydug proved to be too much astheir season ended with a 59-49 loss.Slidell coach Todd McCormickwas proud of his teamand praised their effort.“We played hard and battledall night. Ector is a toughteam. They are state-rankedfor a reason. We did not shootwell early and that put us ina hole,” McCormick said.The Greyhounds outscoredEctor in both the third andfourth quarters. It was thefirst two frames that didthem in.PJ Connely, Ector’s leadingscorer in the game, hadeight points in the firstquarter. Slidell could onlymuster seven points of theirown.Connely’s final bucket ofthe frame gave the Eagles a17-6 lead.Isaac Davis found a bit ofa groove in the second quarterfor Slidell. He had sixof the 10 points the Greyhoundsscored in the period.The Eagles kept the pressureon by scoring 15 pointsto make the score 31-17 infavor of Ector going intohalftime.Slidell had three offensiverebounds and closerangeshots just before thebuzzer, but none fell. It wasthe way the first half wentAlvord: Moving onContinued from page 1BSUBMITTEDTOUGH LOSS — Slidell’s Khristian Talamantes moves theball up court against Ector Tuesday. The Greyhounds’season came to an end with a 59-49 loss.great position. We were justdown by two, and if we madea little bit of an adjustmentwe would be OK.”The Lady Bulldogs rodethat adjustment to a 47-36lead heading to the finalquarter. Alvord outscoredGodley 17-4 in the third period,which ended up being thedifference in the game.“We just started playingour game and giving it everythingwe had,” Alvord seniorSam Hahn said. “We startedgoing with the flow, havingfun and enjoying the journeyfor the Greyhounds.Slidell immediately cutthe lead to single digitsin the third quarter withbuckets from Davis andGracjan Pietryka.Meanwhile, Ector continuedto hit their shots whilekeeping Slidell at bay theremainder of the quarter.Trent Garrett hit a basketjust before the quarterended for Slidell to makeas always.”Defense dominated the finaleight minutes. As hot asboth teams were in the firstquarter, neither could buy abucket in the fourth.Godley’s Maelan Brownbroke the gridlock with 3:01left in the game with a coupleof free throws. She scoredthe only field goal for eitherteam in the frame two minuteslater to get the LadyCats within catch-up range,47-40.Alvord immediately responded,as Schedcik gotthe score 44-33 headinginto the final period of play.Scott Bingham cut into Ector’slead early in the fourthwith a three point basket. Hefollowed that up with a drivinglayup to make it 46-38.Khristian Talamantesforced a couple of turnoversthat gave the Greyhoundsthe ball before Tyler Maynardgave Slidell an opportunityto get closer by takinghis fourth charge of the game.They could not convert onthe opportunities, and theEagles made them pay.A pair of baskets by Ectorgave the Eagles a doubledigitlead again, and the momentumhad turned.Twice the Greyhounds cutthe deficit to eight points, butthey would get no closer.Davis was the game-leadingscorer with 21 points. Hewas the only Greyhound indouble figures.Ector had four players indouble figures. Connely finishedwith 17 points. CodyKennedy scored 12, BradleeColdiron had 11 and JimmyFord added 10.to the foul line twice in thelast minute to put the gameaway. She led Alvord with 16points.“We put a lot on her shoulders,”Schmucker said.“There was nothing easyabout her shots. She justkept on fighting. That iswhat we need from her.”Carlee King finished with12 points, including four3-pointers. Ariel Rogers added13. Hahn tossed in six,and Lauren Hart scored four.Godley was led by Brownwith 17.MACK THWEATT/WCMESSENGERDEFENSE — Alvord’s defense was suffocating in the second half against Godley onlyallowing the Lady Cats eight points in the final two quarters.