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Lexington marches onward

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The Lexington boys dropped to 2-9 on the season with a hard-fought - but disappointing - 43-42 loss to the Bridge Creek Bobcats on the road last Friday night.

Another loss for the ‘Dawgs was tough to take for Lexington head coach J.D. Beck.

“We got started off rough,” Beck said. “Our starting point guard, Heath Winterton, has the flu and he didn’t make the trip. So, we were down one starter already.

“We moved in (Emanuel) Ocampo and he’s a senior who’s started for us several times. He came in and hit a big three for us that got us into a rhythm for a while and put us in the lead going into the fourth quarter. “

Ocampo swished a trey with 6.1 seconds left in the third quarter that put Lexington  up 35-33. 

A 20-11 burst by the ‘Dawgs in the third brought them to that point of the game.

“It seemed like we were playing great defense when we started 7-0,” Beck said. 

“We let them crawl back into the game, though. From there, it was back and forth. We did a poor job executing and I’m talking about small things – like leaving our feet on defense. When you are 6-foot-3 but just putting your arms up, that will do the trick. We have to remain on our feet.”

Lexington was done in the fourth quarter, thanks to missing 10 straight free throws.

“Turnovers were costly for us tonight and also our free throws,” Beck said. “We have to hit both of them when we get the chance. That fourth quarter really hurt us at the line. Our guys worked hard to get to the line, too, and it wasn’t as if they were ‘ticky tack’ fouls. We just couldn’t drop them in.

“Our inability to make those free throws in the fourth quarter made it really tough for us.”

Jaylen Cottrell had a tough game. He is arguably the squad’s leader, but the senior only managed two points. 

“We need Jaylen to score double digits and he’ll get back on track,” Beck said. “He had a hard time tonight with a slick ball. That hurts because we need him big time. He’ll be better next time.”

Teagin Pruitt led the ‘Dawgs with 18 points. Colton Penner chipped in eight points and Ocampo added six onto the scoresheet.

Last Tuesday, Lexington lost to the Class 3A No. 15 Purcell Dragons, 53-44. 

Pruitt had 18 points in the losing effort. Josiah Dawley scored eight points for the ‘Dawgs while Penner and Cottrell both had six.

The ‘Dawgs played at the Grady County Tournament on Monday against Class A Alex and beat the Longhorns, 41-33, to snap their three-game losing stretch. 

Jaylen Cottrell broke out of his slump with 18 points – including three 3-pointers. 

Lexington improved to 3-9 going into Tuesday’s home game against Pauls Valley. 

The ‘Dawgs will resume play in the Grady County Tournament on Thursday.

Girls

Lady ‘Dawgs coach Derek Clark is having a good time watching his gals play. Granted, he has (at times) gritted his teeth at some plays here and there.

That was no more evident after Lexington handily beat Bridge Creek, 51-35, on the road last Friday.

“We didn’t play very well in the first half,” Clark said. “(Bridge Creek) got open looks from outside from pretty much wherever they wanted. Their girls did a great job making their shots early and moving the basketball. They got good looks and they capitalized on that.

“In the second half, we did a much better job of guarding them and just doing a much better job of pushing the ball up in transition. We were able to get out and run the ball a little bit. Plus, there were a couple of ‘threes’ that went down for us and that was good to see.”

Lexington opened with a 10-4 run. But, the Lady ‘Dawgs trailed after the first quarter, 21-14.

Lex went into halftime down seven, 27-20. But, the second half belonged to the Lady ‘Dawgs, as they outscored Bridge Creek in the third and fourth quarters to seal the victory.

Lexington went on a 14-0 run to begin the third quarter, bringing the score to 34-27 in favor of the Lady ‘Dawgs. From there, Lex never looked back.

“Everybody played well in the second half, especially on defense,” Clark said. “We had a couple of bumps on the backside offensively but Lauren (Beason) was aggressive and (Amanda) Graddy always does a good job of handling the ball for us.

“Anna (Sample) stepped up and knocked down a three or two. (Emily) Jenks just plays hard all the time. All in all, it was a team effort and the girls that came in off the bench played well, too.”

Beason was a beast with 21 points while Graddy had 10. Sample and Jaci Idlett each put six points on the scoreboard.

Lexington lost to Purcell, 49-45, last Tuesday. 

Graddy had 13 points for the Lady ‘Dawgs while Rylee Beason scored 10 points. Jenks and 

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