The Steers led by 6, 36-30, heading into intermission. However, Brownfield came out of the locker room energized and its relentless high-pressure defense eventually wore the Steers down, leading to a 82-69 victory for the Cubs.

“They’re ranked in the top 15 in Class 3A. They’ve got a good basketball team and play very well,” Big Spring Head Coach Marcus Morris said. “They’re aggressive and play all four quarters. We played two good quarters tonight. If we played four, then good things would happen.”

The Cubs used an interesting strategy in the first half, sending in five fresh substitutes every minute in an attempt to wear the Steers down. Brownfield’s efforts proved to work in the second half.

While Big Spring’s players had played several minutes throughout the first and second periods, Brownfield’s hadn’t. The Cubs’ starters were obviously fresher down the stretch of the game. They utilized a fast-paced offensive attack coupled with a full-court defense.
“The whole goal is to wear people down and they wore us down,” noted Morris. “In some ways, you could compare it to playing a football team. You play against a spread offense all season and then someone throws a wishbone at you. It’s hard to adjust to that. This team plays run and gun basketball and we weren’t used to seeing it. I’m proud of our guys. We showed some signs of life.”

Big Spring led by as many as 7 points in the first half and held the advantage throughout the entire second period.

However, Brownfield opened the second half on an 8-2 run, tying the game at 38. The Cubs took their first lead at 3:21 mark of the third period, 45-42, courtesy of a 3-pointer. From there, the Cubs quickly took control.

Big Spring helped them out, though, committing several fouls including two technical fouls. Brownfield converted their free throw opportunities and extended its lead to double digits early in the fourth period.

It appeared Big Spring might make a run at Brownfield in the final stanza, opening with a 6-2 run. However, the Cubs’ pressure defense started to get to the Steers again, forcing Big Spring to rush its shots without anyone under the basket to rebound.

“That’s part of playing together,” Morris said. “When one guy shoots, four should be crashing for the rebound while the shooter plays safety. We’ve got to learn to play better in all aspects. When you play a good team, it exposes your weaknesses.”

Big Spring was led by Jason Walker, who scored a game-high 22 points. Lance Gross added 20 points and Terrence Clemons registered a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Tyler Tannehill pulled down eight boards and Tyrone Clemons led the Steers with five assists.

Brownfield’s scoring was more balanced with five players finishing in double figures. Jonathan Lawrence led the Cubs with 13 and Chris Hudson had 12. Luciano Soliz and Christian Avilas each scored 11 with Chris Davis adding 10.

Big Spring tips off District 4-4A play at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Wolforth against the Frenship Tigers. Frenship defeated Brownfield by five points earlier this season.

“Frenship has got a good team and beat these guys,” Morris said. “I’ve seen them play a couple times. We can use tonight as a measuring stick. If we don’t play better defense and box out, then we’re going to have a tough time beating anyone. We’ve got to start making our own breaks.”

“We’ve got to get more stops on defense without fouling,” he continued. “We’ve got to keep playing together and share the ball. We want to keep our enthusiasm up and attitudes positive. District is all about winning. It doesn’t matter how you do it. It’s all about getting a win.”

Brownfield    12    18    27    25—82
Big Spring    17    19    13    20—69

Brownfield: Jasper Fininan 9, Chris Davis 10, Rob Simmons 5, Jonathan Lawrence 13, Seth Swaringen 3, Justin Salas 1, DeMarcus Mackey 4, Tanner Edwards 3, Luciano Soliz 11, Christian Avilas 11, Chris Hudson 12.

Big Spring (10-9): Terrence Clemons 19, Lance Gross 20, Jerrell Williams 2, Tyrone Clemons 2, Jason Walker 22, Tyler Tannehill 2, Matt Ritchey 2.


Contact Sports Editor Jonathan Hull by calling 263-7331, ext. 237, or by e-mailing him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it