The Odessa High boys basketball team returned to the court with a 59-51 win over Snyder in a nondistrict game Tuesday at OHS Fieldhouse.
The Bronchos (7-14) were led in scoring by Jtorian Deary-Johnson who had 14 points while Jordan Bruner had 12 and D’javeyian Williams had seven.
“Snyder is a well-coached team so they were going to give us a fight,” Odessa High head coach Jermil Lewis said. “We continued to fight. We did some good things on defense and then we had some moments where we slowed down. We have to continue to figure out how to play four quarters.”
Snyder was led in scoring by Easton Stewart’s 30 points while Jacob James had seven and Andres Martinez had six.
The Tigers moved to 7-14.
“We’ve got to put a whole game together,” Snyder head coach Lee Scott said. “We’ve had some bumps and bruises that have changed a lot of things for us and have gotten us out of a rhythm. We only found our rhythm at the second tournament of the season. We went into the break on a 5-2 record. We just need to get back in that rhythm. We had a great second half. We did everything we should. We need to play with intensity all four quarters and if we do that, I think we can be pretty good.”
It’s the final week of the nondistrict portion of the season for both teams.
Odessa High will begin play in District 2-6A on Jan. 12.
“We’re still coming together and we feel like we’re ready for district,” Lewis said. “We just have to play hard and it’s just things that we have to work on ourselves in order for us to be successful.”
The Bronchos began the afternoon on a promising 11-5 run.
Snyder’s James scored on a 3-pointer to cut the gap to 11-8 with less than a minute in the first quarter.
Odessa High’s Bruner made a free throw to give the Bronchos a 16-10 lead at the end of the quarter.
Snyder’s Jared Smith scored from inside the arc to make it an 18-12 deficit for the Tigers in the early minutes of the second quarter.
The Bronchos scored a 3-pointer at the 3:48 mark to take a 25-16 lead.
A technical foul on the Bronchos sent Snyder’s (4) to the line where he made both shots and the Tigers trailed 27-17 with 2:35 on the clock.
A put-back by the Bronchos came on a foul and he completed the three-point play for a 30-18 advantage.
A late basket gave the Bronchos a 12-point lead right before the half.
Odessa High began the second half on an 9-7 run, complete with a three-point play.
The Tigers didn’t go away, though, pulling to a 41-37 deficit at the end of the third quarter.
Williams scored a 3-pointer to give the Bronchos a 49-39 lead with 3:32 left in the game.
The Bronchos managed to stay in front and held on for the 59-51 win.
Odessa High has been dealing with illness since Christmas break but with everyone back and healthy, Lewis thinks his team will be ready once 2-6A play starts next week.
“We had some guys get sick over the Christmas break,” Lewis said. “We didn’t have everybody here. That kind of hindered us but now that we have everyone here, we’re just looking forward to the practices we have until district and continue to get better.”
Odessa High will face Midland Christian on Friday.
