|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
The basketball Hornets are on a roll. Azle (14-3, 3-0) swept through the Castleberry holiday tournament after Christmas then posted consecutive district wins.
On Dec. 28 in River Oaks, AHS opened the Castleberry tourney with Venus and won easily, 82-40.
Kellen Myers led with 18 points, 12 coming from a quartet of three-pointers. Joe Richards and Drew Charles – who would both be All-Tournament picks – scored 16 points each and Jake Zuilhof netted 10 as Azle built a comfortable 45-22 halftime lead. Next came a challenge, Fort Worth Eastern Hills. The Hornets, behind by 10 points with three minutes left in the game, coach Eddy Prather recalled, rallied for a 62-58 victory. “That was a great game,” the coach said. “We gave a great three minutes, getting steals and turnovers.”
Charles scored 10 points, none bigger than his final two with just seconds remaining that iced the game. The sophomore went 6-for-6 at the stripe in the pressure-packed final quarter. Richards netted 19 points and Dillon Bagwell scored eight. The championship game in River Oaks was over early: Azle throttled Castleberry 86-51, leading a whopping 53-19 at the half. Jimmy Walter paced scorers with 23 points. Zuilhof got 14, Charles 13, Kellen Myers eight, and Richards seven points. The hot streak did not end with the appearance of the New Year. On Jan. 2 at the AHS gym, Birdville fell 68-54. But it wasn’t a piece of cake. The Hawks couldn’t miss early, and Azle trailed 35-31 at the half. However: “We went on a 20-5 run when we clamped down on defense,” Prather said. Top scorers were Richards (18), Charles (17), Myers (14), and Walter (11). That win was followed by a 51-47 victory in White Settlement over Brewer. The Bears took a lead from AHS in the third quarter, but, again, the Hornet defense smothered its foe and Azle rallied. “Our defense is our key,” Prather said. “We can get after them. We have pride in our defense.” Richards led Azle with 19 points. Charles added 16 and Bagwell and Walter scored seven points apiece. Azle is one of only two unbeaten teams in 6-4A after a pair of district games. The other is a surprise: Springtown. Azle hosts the Porcupines Jan. 19 and a large crowd is expected; that’s the date of Hornets for the Cure |
|
