HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Odessa High, Permian ready for crosstown-rivalry matchups

The Odessa High Bronchos and Permian Panthers enter their first crosstown matchup of the season tied for first place in the District 2-6A boys basketball race.

Tuesday’s game, scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at the Permian Fieldhouse, will determine which team will retain at least a share of the lead.

“We’re trying not to hype it up too much on the crosstown showdown deal,” Bronchos coach Jance Morris said. “But whoever wins this one is 2-0 and still at the top of the district. That’s what we’ve talked about for a while now, not digging a hole and doing what we can to help ourselves out.”

Permian (19-3 overall, 1-0 district) opened the 2-6A schedule on Friday with a 58-29 victory at Wolfforth Frenship, while Odessa High (17-5, 1-0) defeated Midland Lee 62-44 at home. The Bronchos and Panthers will be trying to keep pace with Amarillo Tascosa (15-7, 1-0), which hosts Frenship on Tuesday.

Permian comes into the contest with an 11-game winning streak. In the district opener, the Panthers enjoyed balanced scoring with Brother Miller and Zach McGee sharing the team lead with nine points apiece, while Elijah White and Ozzy Terrazas both scored eight points.

The Bronchos relied on the guard tandem of Isaac Hernandez and Miguel Fonseca, who combined for 43 points in Friday’s victory. Fonseca made six of Odessa High’s nine 3-pointers in scoring 20 points against the Rebels, while Hernandez finished with a game-high 23 points.

“It’s always good to start 1-0 and be at the top,” Morris said. “We’re taking it one game at a time. We got the first one on Friday, but we’re not looking back. We’re looking to the next one, and we’ll get an opportunity (Tuesday night) to do it again.”

Meanwhile, in the girls game, which tips off at 6 tonight at the Permian Fieldhouse, the Lady Bronchos (5-19, 0-3) and Lady Panthers (10-12, 0-3) both look to get back in the district race. Permian is coming off a 71-26 loss at Frenship on Friday. Odessa High, which lost 39-24 to Midland Lee at home on Friday, has dropped 11 of its last 12 games.

The winner will move into fifth place in the district standing just one game behind the loser of Midland High and Midland Lee, who are both 2-1 in district going into their crosstown game.