Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Wildcats claw past Trojans in 50-46 win

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Saturday, January 27, 2001

Wildcats claw past Trojans in 50-46 win
Jesse Cheeks scores 17 points to lead Gregory-Portland in victory over Beeville
By George Vondracek
Caller-Times
BEEVILLE - Pretty, no. Exciting, yes.
   Welcome to the world of boys basketball in District 30-4A, which, for the first half of play, belongs to the Gregory-Portland Wildcats thanks to Friday night's 50-46 frenetic-paced victory over Beeville.
   The skinny after five games mirrors the oldest cliche known to coaches - the one that begins, "On any given night . . . ."
   "I think so. It's just so dad-gummed evenly matched,'' said G-P coach Gary Moss, whose Wildcats survived a miserable night shooting the ball from the field and the foul line. "We lost a two-pointer at Floresville, won a 2-pointer at Pleasanton. They won in overtime at Floresville, lost badly to Port Lavaca on the road.''
   "You never know from night to night,'' Beeville coach Mike Luce said. "We handled Pleasanton pretty easily last time we had them at our house. They barely beat them. We don't show up in Port Lavaca. But that doesn't mean anything.''
   So it has gone. Home court means little in this loop. Both teams entered the game with 3-1 district records without having played each other.
   Now, the 19-7 Wildcats enter the final portion of 30-4A play with a game lead on the field. But they had to overcome 25-percent shooting through three quarters and a paltry 4-of-12 performance from the free-throw line in the first half.
   "It was ugly. We couldn't shoot,'' Moss said. "Normally, we make eight, 10 3-pointers in a game. We just couldn't make anything.''
   What the Wildcats did was eventually make free throws - nine of 11 down the stretch - to pull away from the 15-9 Trojans. Eric Moreno made five of six attempts in the final 1 minute, 45 seconds and Jesse Cheeks converted on four of five in the fourth quarter. Cheeks finished with a game-best 17 points and Moreno had 14.
   The Trojans, meantime, had their own problems. After holding a 24-23 halftime lead on the strength of 50-percent shooting, Beeville made only 21.9 percent of their shots in the second half to finish with a 26.7 shooting clip for the night.
   "Down at the end of the game when we needed to execute the things we worked on in practice and didn't, that bothered me,'' Luce said. "But as far as effort and they way they hustled, I was proud of that.''
   Beeville had an 18-9 advantage early in the second quarter, and that would be the largest lead either would hold. Both teams applied full-court pressure the duration of the ballgame and it reaped big dividends. Beeville turned over the ball 25 times, G-P 20.
   Despite playing with four fouls each, Mike Chargualaf and Ryan Cantu led the Trojans with 10 points apiece, and they were the only Trojans in double figures.
   Still, Luce says the Trojans are playing well and the second half of district play could bring anything.
   "Maybe we'll get some help down the road,'' Luce said, "and somebody beats G-P and we can play for the district championship. But that's a long way down the road.''
   In this district, however, one never knows.
   District 30-4A
   Gregory-Portland 50, Beeville 46
   Gregory-Portland 7 16 11 16--50
   Beeville 14 10 8 14--46
   GREGORY-PORTLAND - Eric Moreno 14, Jesse Cheeks 17, Travis Hancock 6, Skyler Moss 9, Jacob Arruda 1, Justin Cheeks 1, Josh Strempel 2.
   BEEVILLE - J.D. Rhodes 2, Matt Kraft 3, Eric Dickerson 6, Henry Dominguez 2, Mike Chargualaf 10, Ryan Cantu 10, Xavier Arrisola 5, Ernest Ramos 8.
   3-point goals - G-P, Moss 3, Moreno, Hancock; Beeville, Arrisola. Records-G-P 4-1 district, 19-7 overall; Beeville 3-2, 15-9.



Staff writer George Vondracek can be reached at 886-3731 or by e-mail at vondracekg@caller.com

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