KATY — The Thrall Tigers accomplished something Friday that no Tiger team has done since 1990: advance past the second round of the playoffs. Friday’s 70-66 win over the Evadale Rebels sent the Tigers into the regional quarterfinals Tuesday night against the Big Sandy Wildcats.
The first quarter belonged to the Rebels. On the strength of five threepoint jumpers, including three by Warren Brewer, Evadale raced out to a 21-11 lead. But, once the Tigers found the range, the momentum of the game changed.
In the second period, Breken Proctor and Dawson Meiske seized control of the game for Thrall. Proctor, who finished the night with a gamehigh 29 points, tallied 11 points, including three shots from behind the three-point arch. And, while Proctor was raining down long-range jumpers, Meiske was dominating the paint, scoring eight of his 16 points in the period. By the end of the period, the Tigers had cut the lead to 35-33.
Thrall continued their scoring run in the third quarter. The Tigers have routinely had multiple doubledigit scorers throughout the season. And, when opponents have shut down one scorer, another Tiger has picked up the slack. As Evadale adjusted to counter Proctor in the third, Steven Walker took the lead, scoring eight. Proctor still added six points to his growing total, and Payton Gillmore scored five.
The Tigers shot 60% from the field in the third period, outscoring the Rebels 25-14 and took a 57-49 lead into the final period.
The teams traded baskets through most of the fourth quarter, but Thrall managed to keep the lead throughout the period. On multiple occasions, the Rebels closed to within four points, only to see the Tigers surge ahead again, before closing out the win.
In a classic shooting match-up, both teams finished the night shooting better than 40% from the field. Thrall finished the night 6-of-16 from behind the arc, while the Rebels hit 9-of-21.
Proctor led all scorers with his 29 points, while Meiske finished with 16 points and a dozen rebounds. Walker tallied 12 points for the night and grabbed eight rebounds while dishing out six assists, and Ethan Dahl finished the night with eight points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.
The Tigers played the Big Sandy Wildcats Tuesday night in the regional quarterfinals, with a berth in the regional tournament at stake. The winner will face either Goldthwaite or Kenedy on Friday at 8 p.m. at Buda Johnson High School in the regional semifinals.
