By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The Class 2A regional semifinal between the Santa Maria Cougars and Normangee Panthers was an electric, momentum-swinging ball game.
The two teams were tenacious and swapped scoring runs for ties and lead changes throughout the contest, but Normangee prevailed 55-49 behind strong defense.
“The boys did awesome, they left everything out there,” Santa Maria coach Albert Briones said. “We didn’t convert on our free throws, and that’s what hurt us. But (Normangee’s) a very tough squad. I think whoever won this game can win the region, so hats off to them.”
Santa Maria didn’t find the scoreboard until the closing seconds of the first quarter. Normangee went on an 8-0 run to open the contest, but a 3-pointer by senior Giovanni Diaz kept the Cougars from being scoreless through the first eight minutes.
The Panthers opened the lead to eight again in the second quarter, but another late surge by Santa Maria cut the deficit to one. Senior Andrew Morales hit a 3-pointer from the right side of the arc to send the game to halftime with Normangee on top 17-16.
Diaz got Santa Maria its first lead with another 3-pointer to open the third. But late in the quarter, Diaz hurt his knee defending Normangee’s standout sophomore, Izaha Jones, and couldn’t return to the game. The Cougars’ captain ended his final game with 10 points.
“(Losing Giovanni) hurt us. He’s our captain and he’s the one that helps control the game, and he was starting to play a lot better in that second half, so it does hurt,” Briones said.
Junior Bernie Castellanos put in a tremendous effort for Santa Maria and hit a 3-pointer to end a Normangee run late in the third and cut the lead to 35-34. But the Panthers answered with a buzzer-beating 3 from senior Ryan Young to send the crowd into a frenzy.
Morales was a hot shooter after the slow-scoring first quarter, hitting three 3-pointers and dropping 11 points for Santa Maria. Normangee’s top defender, junior Denton Young, was assigned to follow Morales in the second half of the game.
Denton Young’s quick hands recorded multiple steals throughout the game, and though he played tight defense on Morales, he was able to hit some shots. But down the stretch, when the Cougars looked to him for big buckets, the lock-down defense kept him unavailable.
Jones led Normangee with 19 points, and was strong under the basket and from the top of the key. He was especially important during the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points to put the Panthers in control.
Santa Maria struggled from the charity stripe, making just one free throw in the contest. They played hard to the end, but the tears weren’t from joy when the final buzzer sounded.
Morales was too overwhelmed with emotion to talk after the game, but Briones had nothing but praise for his senior.
Castellanos was Santa Maria’s top scorer with 17 points, and he has Briones hopeful for the future.
“Andrew was our sniper, he’s been that guy the whole year, and he played how I expected him to play. I’m proud of him, and we’re going to miss him,” Briones said. “I’m glad it hurts, because I know (Bernie’s) going to come back even tougher next year. He’s going to put more work in, and I want to see that fight in him. We’ll be OK.”