Anahuac rains 3's on Hardin in 70-54 victory
Anahuac's Tre Smith outpaces the Hornets defender on a fastbreak last Tuesday night in Hardin. Photo by Katie Fielder
HARDIN– It was raining three-pointers last Tuesday night, courtesy of the Anahuac Panthers. Hitting eight of their 10 three-pointers in the opening two periods and taking a double-digit halftime lead, then using a big third, it was Anahuac picking up a 70-54 victory over the Hornets in district play.
The opening few minutes saw both teams trading buckets.
A steal and score by Hardin's Jake Lambert had the Hornets leading 6-5.
Cullen Cotton then connected from downtown and the Panthers were in front 8-7.
Brennan Nunan then made a nice move on the inside to score and Hardin trailed 10-9. Anahuac's Tre Smith then scored on consecutive buckets and the Panthers led 17-9 after the first quarter of play.
Early in the second period, it was Jaytwan Dowdye hitting on a three-pointer and the visitors led 20-11.
The Hornets then answered with back-to-back three-pointers from Lambert and Ben Ellison and Hardin was within 22-20.
Cotton then hit a three-pointer for Anahuac and the advantage was back to 25-20.
The Panthers continued to stay hot, and after a three-pointer by Darion Williams, the lead was up to 39-23 and the Hornets needed a timeout.
The Hornets scored the final four points of the first half, capped off by an Ellison jumper, making the score 39-27 at the break.
The third period started out with a Smith three-pointer, and then a steal and score by Dowdye had Anahuac leading 50-32.
The Panthers continued with their big quarter as Williams and Cotton came up with steals and scores, and all of a sudden, the advantage was up to 64-37.
Ellison scored off a nice drive early in the fourth period, cutting the deficit to 66-39. Cotton grabbed a nice rebound and score for Anahuac as their lead was 70-46.
The Hornets never stopped fighting as they scored the final eight points of the game with Ellison scoring off his own steal, making the final score 70-54.
Dowdye led the Panthers with 17 points and Cotton added 14.
Hardin was led by Ellison, who finished with 14 points while Lambert and Nunan each had nine points apiece.
Anahuac will host Orangefield on Friday night, while the Hornets will hit the road and travel to Kirbyville.