STAFF REPORTS
The St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds fell just short against Addison Trinity Christian, 60-56, in the TAPPS regional tournament Friday in College Station.
After St. Joseph fell behind by 12 points at halftime, the Bloodhounds adjusted and starting making their comeback.
“They had a kid who hit five 3-pointers in the second quarter,” St. Josephcoach Sam Lucio said. “We adjusted and we shot lights out, probably the best that we’ve shot all year. But what kept us in the game was our defense.”
The Bloodhounds were led by Sean Cantu, who had 21 points. Kai Money finished with 17 points, and Jorge Villarreal added 12 points for St. Joseph .
St. Joseph isn’t discouraged by the loss. The squad loses four seniors, but the core of its team and three starters return next season.
“We have a lot of positives coming in for next year,” Lucio said. “We gained a lot of confidence,we’ve got those nerves out of the way for next year.
“Hopefully we stick together and keep working hard and see what we can do.”
LAREDO UNITED 57, LOS FRESNOS 30
At Corpus Christi, Los Fresnos’ season ended with a defeat to Laredo United the area round of the Class 6A playoffs.
The Falcons played well during the first half and were down six points at the break. But Los Fresnosstruggled during the third quarter, turning the ball over five straight times, and the Falcons soon found themselves down 17. United outscored the Falcons 21-3 in the quarter. It was a deficit from which they didn’t recover.
Hugo De La Cruz led the Falcons with 11 points and Alex Garcia added seven for Los Fresnos .
“The kids defended well, they played hard, but at the end of the day they couldn’t put the ball in the hole,” Los Fresnoscoach Marco Hinojosa said. “After winning the first district title in 33 years and getting our first playoff win in school history. I mean, I can’t be any more proud of these guys, they laid this foundation. We’ll be back next year, I guarantee it.”
GIRLS
HOUSTON DUCHESNE 59, ST. JOSEPH ACADEMY 48
At College Station, the Lady Bloodhounds’ season ended with a loss in the TAPPS regional tournament.
The Lady Bloodhounds were led by Diana Garcia with 11 points, and Valeria Tapia added eight points.
St. Joseph played without senior guard Allison Alvarez, who had the flu and was forced to sit out. St. Joseph coach Cynthia Martinez said her squad missed having her in the lineup.
“I thought we played as well as we could have,” Martinezsaid. “But she’s our calming force. She takes care of the team and the ball, so it was a little tough for us.”
St. Joseph used its defense to stay close to Duchesne. Tapia and Garcia were assigned to the two best players on the Chargers and held them in check.
“They did just an incredible job, they went above and beyond on defense,” Martinez said.
While the Lady Bloodhounds played tremendously on defense, offensively they had some shots that didn’t fall and as a team they came up short.
“I’m not unhappy with it,” Martinez said of the loss, during which she thought her team played as well as it could. “I think we were able to handle them. I wish we had everybody healthy, I think it could have been a different story.”
FIRST BAPTIST 59, CONROE LIFESTYLE CHRISTIAN 41
At Houston, First Baptist won a game in the TAPPS 1A regional tournament.
The Lady Crusaders were led by Haley Boone and Sandy Masso , who had 22 and 11 points, respectively.
First Baptist was ahead by five points after the first quarter but extended its lead to 31-17 by halftime, and the Lady Crusaders cruised to a victory.
Next up for the Lady Crusaders will be a quarterfinal game between the winner of San Antonio Legacy Christian and host school Houston Family Christian at 1 p.m. today in Houston.