(Seguin) — Playing without their leading scorer, the Seguin Matadors held on to defeat San Antonio Brackenridge 70-66 on Friday night at Goldie Harris Gym, evening their district record at 4-4 after the first round of District 27-5A play.
Clinging to a four-point lead with under 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Matador junior Jayce Jackson came up with a crucial steal on a Brackenridge inbound pass in the frontcourt to clinch the victory. Jackson had been inserted into the game moments earlier by Matador head coach Guy Nowlin.
“That’s just the next-man-up mentality—always stay ready because you gotta be ready,” Nowlin said about Jackson’s steal after the game. “He got called into the game and got a crucial steal there, so hats off to him.”
The Mats got off to a strong start in the first quarter, opening the game on a 15-2 run and leading 31-8 after the first eight minutes. The Eagles battled back, outscoring the Matadors 22-10 in the second quarter, but Seguin still held a double-digit lead at halftime. The Matadors hit seven three-pointers as a team in the first half to build a 41-30 advantage.
The Eagles kept the pressure on in the second half, pulling within one point late in the third quarter. But the Mats responded by scoring the final nine points of the period to push the lead back to 10. The cushion proved enough for Seguin to hold off the Eagles, who outpaced the Matadors 20-14 in the fourth quarter.
“We started off the game really hot, but credit to them—Brackenridge played extremely hard,” Nowlin said. “We knew the game wasn’t over in the first quarter, and it proved to be so.”
Seguin leading scorer Tavien Miles missed the game with an injury. Sophomore Noah King stepped up in Miles’ absence, pouring in a team-high 25 points, including six three-pointers. Freshman Nate Walter added 14 points and senior Abron Acuna contributed 13.
The Matadors begin the second round of district play on Tuesday night when they travel to San Antonio to take on the Sam Houston Hurricanes.