The Littlefield Wildcats’ varsity basketball team suffered a close loss on the road against the Dimmitt Bobcats, 52-46.
With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 8-15 overall, 2-4 in district play.
Tyrell Norman found Omar Martinez for a lay-up to open the contest and Jaron Cabello followed it up with a three from the left corner, off of the assist from Martinez to stretch their lead to, 5-0, with 5:51 remaining in the opening quarter. CJ Willey dropped in a put-back off of a miss by Ivan Moreno and Moreno followed it up with a three from the left elbow to tie the game, 5-5.
With 2:20 remaining in the first quarter, Moreno knocked down a step-back jumper from the left wing to give Dimmitt their first lead of the game, but Martinez answered with a three from the left wing to put Littlefield back in front, 8-7. In the closing seconds of the quarter, Ty’Jae Chambers grabbed an offensive rebound and got it to MJ Randle, who buried a three from the right wing to give the Wildcats a four-point lead going into quarter number two.
Raul Cadena took a charge on Jeremiah Trevino to open the second quarter and Willey followed it up, by drawing a foul on a putback attempt, sending him to the line for free throws. He made one-of-two shots at the line and on their next possession, Moreno was fouled on a three-point attempt by Jordan Trevino. He converted all three attempts at the line to tie the game, 11-11, with 6:14 remaining in the first half.
On the other end of the floor, Jordan Trevino was fouled on an attempt and split the free throws to give the Wildcats a one-point advantage, 12-11. On their next possession, Jordan Trevino hit Martinez in transition for a lay-up, but Dimmitt answered with a three from the left wing to tie the game, 14-14, with five minutes remaining in the half.
Cabello was fouled on a putback attempt by Emeliano Peralta and split the free throws to give Littlefield a one-point lead, 15-14. Chip Green followed it up with a three from the left elbow, off of he assist from Cabello to make the score, 18-14, as Dimmitt took a time out with 3:43 to play in the half. Out of the break, Willey knocked down a runner from the right elbow, but Cabello answered with a three from the right elbow, off of an assist from Green to make the score, 21-16.
Moreno buried back-to-back threes from the corners to put Dimmitt in front, 22-21, but with time winding down in the half, Green was fouled on the floor by Gabriel Ontiveros and made both shots of the one-in-one opportunity, making the score, 23-22. The Wildcats would get the ball back with one more chance at a score, as Jordan Trevino raced down the court, driving to the right side of the basket, forcing the defense to collapse on him. He bounced a pass to a wide open Ryan West, who dropped in a lay-up to close out the first half for Littlefield with the Wildcats on top, 25-22.
Cadena opened the second half with a short jumper from the left side and on their next possession, Daunte Perez hit Cadena for a layup to put the Bobcats in front, 26- 25. With 4:50 remaining in the third quarter, Martinez got the ball to Norman, who was fouled on an attempt, earning a trip to the freethrow line. He made one-of-two shots to tie the game, 26-26.
Cabello took a charge on Willey, but the Wildcats couldn’t capitalize, as Peralta was fouled on an attempt and split the free throws to put Dimmitt on top, 27-26. Willey followed it up with a layup, drawing an and-one foul on Green. He converted the freethrow to extend their lead to, 30- 26. Randle answered with a three from the top of the key, off of the assist from Norman, but Dimmitt came right back with a three from the left wing by Peralta, making the score, 33-29.
Littlefield took a time out with 2:57 remaining in the quarter and out of the break, Norman was fouled on an attempt by Devon Enriquez; he split the free throws and Martinez followed it up with a floater off of the assist from Randle, cutting the lead to one point, 33-32. Green followed it up with a lay-up in transition to put Littlefield in front,34-33, as Dimmitt took a time out with 1:50 left to play in the quarter.
Willey knocked down a jumper from the free-throw line, off of the assist from Cadena and with under one minute to play in the quarter, Peralta drained a three from the left elbow to extend their lead to, 38-34. Norman, though, would close out the quarter with a layup, off of the assist from Martinez to make it a one-possession game, 38-36, heading into the final quarter of play.
Dimmitt opened the fourth quarter on a, 9-0 scoring run, before Jordan Trevino drove the right side of the basket for a lay-up to cut the lead to, 47-38. Luke Settle was fouled on an attempt by Martinez. He made the first and missed the second, as Norman grabbed the defensive rebound and got it ahead to Jordan Trevino, who buried a three from the right elbow to make it a seven-point game, 48-41.
Jordan Trevino sank another three from the right elbow off of the assist from Green to cut the lead to four points, as Dimmitt took a time out with 1:06 remaining. Out of the break, Perez dropped in a lay-up off of an assist from Moreno, but on the other end, Jordan Trevino was fouled on the floor by Peralta, earning a trip to the line. He missed the free throw, but a save by Norman found Martinez, who dropped it in for a lay-up to make the score, 50-46.
Littlefield took a time out and out of the break, Moreno was fouled on the floor by Green, earning a one-in-one opportunity at the line. He sank both free throws, as Dimmitt took a time out leading the Wildcats, 52-46, with 19 seconds remaining. The score would stand, as Littlefield’s comeback efforts fell short on the road, 52- 46
Ṁartinez led the team in scoring with 11 points, while Jordan Trevino chipped in nine points and Green and Cabello each added seven points. Randle tallied six points, while Norman contributed four points and West finished with two points in the contest.
The Wildcats had a huge game Friday at home against Denver City. Results were not available at press time. They will continue their season on Tuesday with a home game against Friona.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.