BOYS BASKETBALL: Odessa High pulls away to beat Midland High, clinch playoff berth

The Odessa High Bronchos made their final home appearance of the season worth remembering Tuesday, clinching a playoff berth with a 76-57 victory over the Midland High Bulldogs at the OHS Fieldhouse.

With the victory, Odessa High (22-7 overall) maintained its hold on second place in District 2-6A at 6-2. The Bronchos hold a two-game lead over third-place Amarillo Tascosa heading into Friday’s road game against the Rebels.

“We talked to them this morning and before this game that if we win this one, it clinches no matter what,” Bronchos coach Jance Morris said. “We’re just trying to perfect what we do and get better at our craft and really not worry so much about the opponents right now. We’re just trying to peak at the right time.

“We know we’re in, but we don’t know where we’re going to be. If we handle business right, if we get one of the next two, we will be the No. 2 seed.”

Isaac Hernandez scored 12 of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter as Odessa High seized control. Memo Anaya and Ryan Brazeal added 14 points apiece, while Miguel Fonseca scored 10 points and Josh Cabello had nine.

“We haven’t been to the playoffs since my sophomore year, two years ago,” Fonseca said. “This means a lot to us. We’re doing things that haven’t been done in a long time. Being able to play the playoffs here is a great feeling.”

Midland High (11-18, 2-6) dropped to fifth place in the district standings with its fourth consecutive loss. Duce Warren scored 14 points to lead the Bulldogs with Daniel Elliott scoring 10, while Jordan Riley, Kamden Taylor and Brett Canis each adding eight.

Warren hit a pair of 3-pointers as Midland High took an early 8-4 lead, but Odessa High responded with a 13-0 run to go in front to stay. Cabello hit two 3-pointers to help spark the run.

“We just felt like we had to do what we had to do fast,” Cabello said. “Everybody wanted the ball in their hands, so it took us a while to get everyone involved.”

Morris said once the Bronchos settled down, they began executing better on both ends.

“We were locked in a little more defensively and we started passing the ball instead of going down and having just one shot per possession,” he said.

The Bulldogs got as close as four midway through the second quarter and were still within five early in the third before the Bronchos used a 14-2 run to pull away for their third victory of the season over Midland High.

“The first two times we played them, we were figuring out what to do and how to play them, stuff like that,” Fonseca said. “This game was easier. We came out shaky the first half, but the second half we really picked it up.”

Odessa High took its biggest lead of the night at 74-46 on Brazeal’s third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter with 2:48 to play.

Odessa High 76, Midland High 57

MIDLAND HIGH (11-18, 2-6)

Daniel Elliott 2 4-4 10, Duce Warren 5 0-0 14, Jordan Riley 3 1-6 8, Rayshad Chambers 2 3-4 7, Suddin Sapien 0 0-0 0, Demorri Williams 1 0-0 2, Adrian Lozano 0 0-0 0, Kamden Taylor 2 3-6 8, Brett Canis 4 0-2 8. Totals 19 11-21 57.

ODESSA HIGH (22-7, 6-2)

Isaac Hernandez 7 4-7 21, Josh Cabello 3 0-0 9, Kaleb Murry 2 0-0 4, Miguel Fonseca 3 2-2 10, Memo Anaya 5 4-5 14, Keionshay Jones 0 0-0 0, Nate Rodriguez 1 0-0 2, Edward Salgado 0 0-0 0, Kameron Gonzales 0 0-2 0, Ryan Brazeal 3 5-5 14, Cole Bordner 1 0-2 2. Totals 25 15-23 76.

Midland High………. 15…. 9   11   22   —    57

Odessa High……….. 20…. 9   20   27   —    76

3-Point goals — Midland High 8 (Elliott 2, Warren 4, Riley 1, Taylor 1), Odessa High 11 (Hernandez 3, Cabello 3, Fonseca 2, Brazeal 3). Total fouls — Midland High 16, Odessa High 17. Fouled out — Chambers. Technical fouls — Chambers.

DISTRICT 2-6A STANDINGS

                                          Overall       District

Team                                 W      L      W        L

x-Permian…………………… 26      3        8        0

x-Odessa High……………. 22      7        6        2

Amarillo Tascosa………… 18    11        4        4

Wolfforth Frenship………… 15    16        3        5

Midland High………………. 11    18        2        6

Midland Lee…………………. 8    22        1        7

x-clinched playoff berth

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Tuesday’s games

Permian 62,  Amarillo Tascosa 52

Odessa High 76, Midland High 57

Wolfforth Frenship 62, Midland Lee 48

Friday‘s games

Odessa High at Amarillo Tascosa, 7:30 p.m.

Midland Lee at Permian, 7:30 p.m.

Wolfforth Frenship at Midland High, 7:30 p.m.