The Littlefield Wildcats’ varsity basketball team held off the Idalou Wildcats on the road on Friday, 49-42, in their first meeting of district play.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 4-2 in district play.
Cooper Hammock-Wilson opened the contest with a three from the right elbow for Idalou and AJ Huddleston followed it up with a drive through the middle for a lay- up to stretch their lead to, 5-0. With 4:42 to play in the opening quarter, Jayden Barrio drove the left side for a floater to get Littlefield on the board, but on the next play, Brayshaun Bradford took a charge on Sammy Saenz.
Littlefield regained possession after the turnover, as Andrew Davis finished at the rim with a lay- up through contact in the lane to trim the lead to, 5-4. With 2:51 remaining in the opening quarter, Elijah Rodriguez dropped in a reverse lay-up, but Brady Blackwell answered with a three from the left wing, off of an assist from Bradford, putting Idalou back in front, 8-6.
Rodriguez delivered a pass through traffic to Davis, who finished the play with a lay-up to tie the game, 8-8. With under a minute to go in the quarter, Barrio was fouled on an attempt by Hammock-Wilson, his second of the game. Barrio converted one-oftwo shots from the line, making the score, 9-8, but in the closing second of the quarter, Bryson Estes drained a three from the top of the key to put Idalou in front, 11-9, going into second frame.
Estes knocked down a fade-away from the left wing to open the second quarter and he followed it up with a pull-up from the right side, off of the assist from Hunter McClendon, pushing the Idalou lead to, 15-9. With 5:28 to play in the first half, Barrio dropped in a lay-up through contact and Nate Castaneda followed it up with a steal, taking it all the way to the hoop for a lay-up to make it a one-possession game, 1513.
Idalou took a time out with 4:20 to play in the half, and out of the break, Barrio drove the left side for a lay-up, drawing an and-one foul on Huddleston. He converted the free throw to put Littlefield back in front, 16-15.
Hammock-Wilson drove the left side for a lay-up for Idalou, but on the other end, Saenz drove the middle, drawing a shooting foul on McClendon. He made the first shot and missed the second, but Castaneda grabbed the offensive rebound, which led to Barrio knocking down a jumper from the left wing, making the score, 19-17, with 1:34 to play in the half.
With under a minute to go in the half, Castaneda buried a three from the left elbow, off of the assist from Saenz, as Littlefield took a five-point lead, 22-17, into the locker room at halftime.
Castaneda drained a three from the left wing, off of an assist from Rodriguez to open the second half, but Huddleston answered with a lay-up to make the score, 25-19. Idalou took a time out with 4:37 remaining in the third quarter to prevent a jumpball, and out of the break, Bradford was fouled on an attempt by Saenz, his second of the game. Bradford sank both shots at the line to make the score, 25-21.
Rodriguez responded with a three from the right wing, off of an assist from Barrio and Saenz followed it up with a steal, leading to a fast- break lay- up to stretch their lead to, 30-21, with 3:14 to play in the quarter. Davis buried a three from the right wing, off of an assist from Castaneda, but Huddleston answered with a drive through the middle for a lay-up, making the score, 33-23.
With 1:26 to play in the third, Ben Castillo was called for three seconds in the lane, and Idalou followed it up, as Estes dropped in a jump hook in the lane to trim the lane to, 33-25. With under a minute to go in the quarter, Castaneda drained a three from the right wing, off of the assist from Barrio, making the score, 3625, going into the final quarter of play.
Castaneda grabbed an offensive rebound and hit Davis with a back-door pass for a lay-up, pushing the lead to, 38-25 to open the fourth quarter. Hammock- Wilson took a charge on Saenz, giving him his third foul of the game, and Estes dropped in a runner from the right side for Idalou, as Littlefield took a time out with 5:26 to play, leading Idalou, 38-27.
Out of the break, Huddleston bounced a pass through traffic to Brady Blackwell for a reverse layup, as he drew an and-one foul on Saenz, his fourth. Blackwell converted the free throw to cut the lead to, 38-30. With 4:38 to play, Davis was fouled on an attempt by Estes. He sank both shots at the line, but Estes responded with a three from the left wing, making it a seven-point game, 40-33.
With 3: 28 to play, Rodriguez dropped in a layup for Littlefield, but Blackwell answered with a three from the right elbow, making the score, 42-36. With 2: 52 remaining, Idalou’s coach was given a technical foul sending Barrio to the line for a pair of free throws. He sank both shots at the line, extending the lead to, 44-36.
With 1:34 to play in the contest, Saenz was fouled on a put-back attempt by Huddleston, his third of the game. Saenz converted both shots at the line, as Littlefield took a time out to talk things over, leading, 4636. Out of the break, Bradford buried a three from the left elbow, as they took a time out to preserve the clock with 43.3 seconds to play in the game.
With time winding down in the game, Castaneda was fouled on the floor by Blackwell. He made oneof- two shots at the line to push their lead to, 47-39. Rodriguez sank a pair of free throws in the closing seconds, after being fouled by Huddleston, but Estes sank a half court shot at the buzzer, as Littlefield took down Idalou, 49-42.
The Wildcats were led by Castaneda, who tallied 12 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Barrio chipped in 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal, and Davis contributed 11 points and one rebound.
Rodriguez tallied nine points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Saenz added five points, seven rebounds, two steals one assist and one block.
The Wildcats hosted Hale Center in non-district play on Tuesday. Results were not available at press time. They will resume district play on Friday with a road game against Shallowater.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.