Big Spring held tight with the Bulldogs through the first few minutes of the opening period, but Wylie’s full-court press started to take its toll on the Steers. Wylie forced several turnovers and went on an 19-5 run to end the period, leaving Big Spring down 27-8 after the opening stanza.

The score continued to snowball on the Steers in the second period as they struggled to break the press.

“I knew that a press could be scary for us at this time of the year,” said Big Spring Head Coach Marcus Morris. “We don’t have our full team with us, yet. I hoped we could break down the press a little more than we did, but that’s what happens in first games of the season.”

Big Spring did have more energy in the second half, but part of that was Wylie relaxing on the press. However, the Steers outscored the Bulldogs, 28-24, in the final two periods.

Much of the Steers offense in the second half was centered around Jason Walker. Walker scored seven of his 13 points in the fourth period as his penetrations into the paint sparked Big Spring’s offense in the final stanza.

Terrence Clemons led the Steers with 14 points, chalking up nine points in the second half.

“Jason and Terrence are very explosive and very good athletes,” Morris said. “We’ll feed off of their energy all year.”

Regardless of the outcome, Morris noted it’s a long season for a talented team adjusting to unfamiliar territory.

“New coach. New system. New uniforms. Everything is pretty new for this team right now,” said Morris. “Unfortunately, the speed of the game looked pretty new to us, too. We’ve got some good players and have a chance to a pretty good basketball team. It will be fun to see where we started and where we are at the end of the year.”

Wylie was led Mason MacNoll who scored nine points in the first period and 16 points overall. Drew Seale also scored in double digits with 13 points. Wylie converted 18 field goals, including six 3-pointers, in the first half compared to the Steers’ four.

At the charity stripe, Wylie was nine of 13 and the Steers made 13 of 21.

Lance Gross nailed two threes in the third period and scored eight points in all. Tyrone Clemons chipped in five points.

Big Spring hosts Lamesa Friday at Steer Gym. The boys’ game will follow the Lady Steers matchup with San Angelo Central slated to start at 4 p.m.

NOTES: Big Spring High School’s freshmen girls finished third in the Midland High Tournament Saturday. Play started Friday night with the Lady Steers beating host Midland High, 52-31. Valerie Ross and Taryn Kennedy had 18 points each to lead the scoring.

Permian took advantage of a slow Big Spring start Saturday morning, dropping the Lady Steers, 40-32. Kennedy once again led with seven points. Stormi Smith and Ross each had six points.

In the third place game, Big Spring jumped on Midland Lee early and never looked back, winning 40-16. Ross, Kennedy, Desire Anderson and Lindzi Rodriguez led the way for the Lady Steers.

The freshmen avenged their only loss this season by defeating Permian Monday and improved their record to 4-1.

Big Spring Junior High’s four girls squads went 3-1 against Midland Christian Monday.

The eight grade A team put together a decisive, 57-9, victory. Bridgett Tuitt led all scorers with 29 points. Cassie Boehringer and Diamond Mayes each added eight points.

The seventh grade B team also won big, 40-19. Andrea Delgado posted a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Kenniesha Nieto chipped in seven points.

The seventh grade A team won a closer contest, 24-17. Logan Yarbar and Vanessa Alvarado each scored nine points. Angelina Castillo pulled down 11 rebounds.

The eight grade B team suffered the junior high’s only loss, 21-12. April Turner had four points and Sierra Hinojosa added three.