Mineral Wells Area News

By DAVID MAY

Special to Mineral Wells Area News

The Graford and Gordon boys basketball teams are in the regional quarterfinals after claiming easy area round wins. Both are two wins away from a trip to the championship rounds in San Antonio.

The competition ramps up for the two Class 1A Region III teams hoping to advance to the semifinals.

Gordon

Ranked No. 8 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll and No. 9 by Maxpreps, the Longhorns stand at 17-6 after their 72-31 win Friday over Sidney in the area round. 

The Eagles finished in second place in District 18. They earned their way to the area round with a 58-32 bi-district win over the Cherokee Indians. Gordon, which finished first in District 19, blew past Meridian, 85-37, in the bi-district playoff opener.

Now Gordon will face the Morgan Eagles, the winners of District 20 after going undefeated (12-0). The Eagles are 25-1 on the year, its only blemish a three-point loss Dec. 5 to the Texas Wind. Despite their record, Maxpreps currently has Morgan ranked just 22^nd in Class 1A, while the Eagles are unranked by TABC.

The two teams will square off Tuesday at Dublin High School, with tipoff set for 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 adults, $3 students and seniors are free. 

Against common opponents Gordon is 6-1 (a loss to Strawn) and Morgan is 5-0. Gordon averages 64.8 points per game to 61.1 ppg for Morgan.

The winner will play the winner of the Perrin-Whitt vs Dodd City quarterfinal matchup. Perrin-Whitt is 32-4 overall after finishing second to Graford in District 21, its only two district losses coming to the Jackrabbits. The Pirates almost upended Graford at Perrin, losing 39-38. Perrin-Whitt is ranked fifth in the TABC Class 1A poll and second by Maxpreps.

Graford

The consensus No. 1-ranked and defending Class 1A champs Graford Jackrabbits handily won their first two playoff games, 89-31, over Bellevue and 67-38 over Saltillo. Now Graford (25-4) faces Slidell. The Greyhounds are 28-8 and went undefeated in District 22.

The two teams are set to play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Bridgeport High School. The winner will play the winner of the Huckabay vs. Richland Springs quarterfinal game.

Like Graford, Slidell blew past their first two playoff foes – 79-39 over Bryson and 70-30 over Avery.

Slidell currently sits at 11th in the TABC poll and sixth in the Maxpreps Class 1A rankings.

The two teams met in November, with Graford taking a 56-46 win on Slidell’s court.

Against common opponents, Graford is 4-0 (wins over Poolville, Martins Mill, Bryson and Bellevue) while Slidell is 3-2 (wins over Bryson and Bellevue and losses to Poolville and Martins Mill.)

Slidell averages 68.2 points per outing while Graford scores 67.6 points per game. The Jackrabbits have allowed an opponents scoring average of just 35.8 points per game, while the Greyhounds have given up 42.9 ppg.