The McLennan Highlanders bounced back into the win column with a 90-79 win over the Temple Leopards tonight in Temple.
It was a back and forth game from the opening tip to the final buzzer. The game was tied at six with 16:32 to go in the first half. McLennan used a 9-3 run to build a six-point lead at 15-9. Temple came back with a 10-0 run to lead 19-15 with 13:03 on the clock. Back-to-back buckets by the Highlanders' Cameron Crockett tied the game at 19. Antwone Gonzales drained a pair of jumpers to give McLennan a four-point lead, 23-19. The Highlanders continued to lead by four with 8:34 to play before the half. The Leopards pulled within one on a Caleb Gaston 3-pointer, 25-24. The teams traded the lead and the game was tied at 35 with 4:34 to go. A Henry Sanchez-Perez 3-pointer gave Temple the 3-point advantage at the last media timeout before the half, 38-35. The Highlanders went on a 6-0 run to flip the lead to a 3-point advantage for them, 41-38. The game was tied at 43 with one minute to play. McLennan had the ball for the final possession, and a last-second layup by Jaden Walker gave the Highlanders the 45-43 lead at halftime.
Temple took the 48-47 lead early in the second half but McLennan continued to fight, building a six-point lead at 58-52 with 15:10 on the clock. The Highlanders continued to rally and pushed the lead to double digits on a 5-0 run by Nick Shogbonyo with just under 12 minutes remaining, 69-56. McLennan led by as many as 16 before Temple started to rally. The Leopards pulled within eight, 76-68, before McLennan pushed it back to 14 with a 6-0 run, 82-68. The Highlanders kept Temple at arm's length the rest of the way to seal the victory.
McLennan: Daylon Dickerson 4 2-2 10; Nick Shogbonyo 10 4-4 27; Jaden Juarez 0 3-3 3; Antwone Gonzales 5 8-8 19; Landon Anderson 5 0-0 13; Cameron Crockett 7 2-5 16; Jaden Walker 1 0-0 2; Totals: 32 19-22 90.
Temple: Camren Roper 3 2-5 9; Elcid Smith 0 0-0 0; Theo Grant 4 4-7 14; Ja'Rayl Peoples 1 0-0 2; Desmond Green 3 1-2 7; Andrew Iyamah 7 0-3 14; Caleb Gaston 5 1-2 14; Henry Sanchez-Perez 3 0-0 7; Malkeyce Harris 0 0-0 0; Jacob Taitte 5 0-0 12; Totals: 31 8-19 79.
Halftime score: McLennan 45, Temple 43; 3-pointers: McLennan7 (Shogbonyo 43, Anderson 3, Gonzales 1), Temple 9 (Gaston 3, Taitte 2, Grant 2, Perez 1, Roper 1); Total fouls: McLennan 14, Temple 18; Record: McLennan 15-5 (2-2).
