La Marque next up for Ybarra, Eagles

[KFDM COOP]

La Marque next up for Ybarra, Eagles

By Michael Pineda

Baytown Sun

If Brooks Ybarra is inducted into the Barbers Hill Sports Hall of Fame, it will be his performance Tuesday night that serves as his legacy.

With a couple of spin moves and a flip of the wrist, Ybarra broke Beaumont Central’s heart. His 35th point of the game hung on the rim before going through the net at the sound of the horn to give the Eagles a 73-71 win in a bi-district game at Lee College. Barbers Hill will now face LaMarque in La Porte, Saturday at 2 p.m.

“I kind of stared at it and then we celebrated,†Barbers Hill head coach Nathan Toon said of the game-winner. “That was the best game I have been a part of as a head coach, assistant coach or a player.

“A lot of people at Barbers Hill will remember that game for a long time. It was that exciting.â€

The Eagles were able to expose matchups offensively to offset the Beaumont Central’s advantage inside. Six of the first eight points for the Jaguars came from offensive rebounds, but Barbers Hill (21-11) responded by attacking the paint.

Ybarra was able to get to the basket against Lincoln Charleston as the Jaguars concentrated on Jon Daniels and Ian Hamlin. Central switched defenders but it had little effect as Ybarra scored 20 points in the first half.

Trailing 35-32 at the half, the Jaguars went to a zone defense to start the third quarter and paid for it.

Daniels only had two points in the first half but heated up quickly with a couple of 3-pointers to force a Central timeout at the 6:22 mark with Barbers Hill leading 41-34. The Jaguars went to a man-to-man but the Eagles stayed hot as Daniels added another trey and Ybarra hit two more.

“Offensively they really didn’t match up well with Brooks,†Toon said. “They went to a zone and Jon hit some threes. Fortunately we shot the ball really well from the 3-point line.â€

With Hamlin battling foul trouble and cramps, the Jaguars picked up the defensive pressure in the fourth quarter and worked Barbers Hill over on the offensive boards. With Charleston and Jamar Gulley leading the charge, Central made it a three-point game with three minutes remaining. A Ybarra basket along with a Daniels 3-pointer made the score 69-61with 2:14 left in the game but Central answered with an 8-0 run to tie the game with 51 seconds remaining.

With the crowd on its feet, Jake Miller gave Barbers Hill a 71-69 lead on an inbounds play as the Jaguars’ interior defense let him slide through the lane unguarded. Charleston scored on the ensuing possession and Central forced a Barbers Hill turnover with its press.

Ybarra swatted a layup out of bounds in what turned out to be a game-saving play. Central turned the ball over following a timeout and Barbers Hill got the ball across half-court and called timeout to set up the play.

“The plan was to get Brooks the ball and let him make a play, either passing the ball or scoring,†Toon said.

As was the case most of the night, Ybarra was able to get through the defense, dribbling out of a double-team near half court and avoiding another one near the top of the key as he drove through three defenders to put up the game-winning shot.

Daniels finished with 14 points to go along with Ybarra’s 35. Hamlin also scored 13 in the game, nine in the second half. Gulley led Central with 21 points and Chris Harris added 12, all in the first half.

[RunTheDamBall]

well written, we'll see if they can keep the dream alive

[bhguidry]

BH ALL The Way