Steers outlast Slaton

FARWELL — Only a week removed from the football playoffs, it was anyone’s guess what the Farwell boys basketball team would look like in its Saturday season opener.

As it turned out, the Steers played fairly well, pulling away down the stretch for a 61-53 victory over Slaton.

Farwell opened a 13-point lead in the first quarter, then fell behind a couple of times during the middle of the game before regrouping late.

Sophomore guard Corey Stancell led the Steers with 15 points, while senior post Grayson Waldrop added 12 and junior guards Juan Gaxiola and Adrian Nunez tallied 10 apiece.

The Class 3A Tigers (2-1), who posted a road win over 4A Levelland the night before, got three 3-pointers and 15 points from senior guard Treven Baker and 11 from sophomore guard Jahlil Brewster.

“That’s a good team,” Steers coach Shane Perkins said of Slaton. “In your first game, you don’t know what to expect, but I thought our kids competed well. We didn’t let them get away from us when they got the lead.”

Farwell went ahead for good on a breakaway basket by Gaxiola late in the third period. The Steers then outscored Slaton 17-11 in the final segment, getting a 3-pointer and seven points from Waldrop and a 3-pointer apiece from Adrian and Leo Nunez.

Adrian Nunez said it was important to keep the game well within reach when the Steers struggled.

“We were just down by (one point twice), so it wasn’t going to be too hard to come back,” he said. “If it gets much more than that, it’s a little more difficult.”

Baker’s trey gave the Tigers their second and final lead of the game (45-44) with 6:52 to go. Waldrop cleaned up a loose ball in the lane and scored on Farwell’s next trip down to start a 6-0 run.

Waldrop’s 3 made it 60-49 with 1:51 left and the Steers were able to coast from there.

“Their guards are pretty good,” Perkins said. “No. 10 (Baker) last year hit six 3-pointers against us and scored 28 points. They’re hard to guard off the dribble.”

Adrian Nunez said Baker was a point of emphasis for the Steers in this one.

“I think we guarded him pretty good,” he said. “We left him open a couple of times and he scored 3s, but other than that we made him work.”

Smyer had just nine players in uniform, eight of whom played.

“We played a close game at Levelland last night, but we’re not going to let that be an excuse,” Slaton coach Stacy Godfrey said. “These guys came out and hustled. We schedule games like this to get ready for our district.”

Also on Saturday, the Farwell girls dropped a 56-38 decision to Muenster in a neutral-court game played at Childress.

The Lady Blue trailed by just one at halftime before the Lady Hornets (3-1) outscored them 40-23 over the final two periods to hand Farwell its first loss of the season.

Brooke Tyler with 25 points and Martie McCoy with 18 did most of the damage for Muenster, which shot 64 percent from the field while making 7-of-10 3-pointers and 7-of-8 free throws. Tyler went 6-of-6 from the foul line while McCoy collected four 3-pointers.

Freshman Bella Jaime led Farwell with 12 points.

Farwell sweeps Smyer — On Monday night, Farwell squads had an easy time at Smyer, the boys posting a 75-35 victory over the Bobcats while the girls claimed an 84-37 decision.

The Steers again put four players in double digits, getting 15 from Stancell, 13 from Gaxiola, 12 from Waldrop and 11 from Adrian Nunez. Farwell led 21-10 at the quarter and steadily pulled away from the Bobcats, who were playing their season opener and were led in scoring by 11 points from junior Landen Polk.

Meantime, the Lady Blue (4-1) led by 22 points at halftime, then scored 38 in the third stanza to overwhelm the Lady Bobcats (2-2).

All 11 Farwell players scored, including seven with at least eight points, led by sophomore Charlie May Trimble with 15. Also in double figures were Makaylee Baldwin with 11 points, and Jaime and Carley Gilbreath with 10 apiece.

Junior Mollie Norman was the lone player in double figures for Smyer with 14 points.