Cougars lose in Key City Classic

By TED DUNNAM / Assistant Sports Editor

Don't tell Jack Aldridge that you can't go home again.

Aldridge and his Spring Westfield Mustangs came out of the gate fast and finished just as strong, pinning a 67-45 loss on his former team, the Cooper Cougars, in a second-round matchup Friday in the Key City Basketball Classic.

Westfield, exhibiting strong guard play and tenacity on the boards, jumped to an 18-9 first-quarter lead and was never challenged by Cooper, which had opened the tournament with an impressive 85-64 win over Lubbock Estacado.

"I was real proud of our guys," said ex-CHS head coach Aldridge. "They maintained their composure for most of the game. Cooper made a couple of good runs at us and we were able to withstand those.

"I can tell that Cooper's going to have a real good ballclub, and I hope that we do, too."

Westfield led 39-22 at halftime and Cooper trimmed the lead to 11 points at one stage but could get no closer.

"They dictated everything that went on in that game," Cougar head coach Greg Gober said. "They're just a lot better than us. We're a team of wanna-be players and coach Aldridge's team is already there.

"Our inability to make free throws and shoot the ball well on the perimeter killed us. You could tell that Westfield is a team that believes in their abilities and we're just wishing for good things to happen."

Despite being up by 21 points in the third quarter, Aldridge didn't feel the issue was decided at that point.

"We have just one returnee and we're trying to work in three football players. With that much youth, you just hope you don't make too many mistakes. We stayed aggressive for the most part and did a pretty good job of taking care of the ball."

Abilene High put up a couple of respectable fights Saturday, but unfortunately for first-year head coach Jeff Evans, the Eagles dropped a pair of decisions.

AHS fell to Amarillo Tascosa, 64-55, in its opener before San Antonio Jay dealt the Eagles a 75-66 setback.

"In all honesty, I thought we played pretty well both games," Evans said. "We just had a couple of breakdowns. In that Tascosa game, it came in the fourth quarter. In this game (versus San Antonio Jay), it came in the second quarter.

"We just haven't gotten the consistency we need. The players are still learning my system. But that's what these games are for. You want to win them, and we had a chance to win both games, but hopefully this will be good for us."

Abilene High took a 47-46 lead into the fourth quarter against Tascosa, but the Rebels outscored the Eagles 18-8 in the closing eight minutes to come away with the win.

In the setback to Jay, Abilene High was outscored 22-11 in the second quarter.

"We played well against (Lubbock) Coronado earlier this year," Evans said, "and then we hit a little slump. But I thought we did some good things today. We just need to be more consistent, and I think that will come."

Joining Westfield in the semifinals were Coppell, a 64-55 winner over Tascosa; Pflugerville, an 81-72 victor against Tyler; and Amarillo High, a 47-44 winner over San Antonio Jay.

In consolation games today, Cooper plays Tascosa at 11 a.m. and Abilene High takes on Estacado at 1 p.m. Both games are at Cougar Gym.