91èÏÈÉú

TYLER — 91èÏÈÉú lost its shooting touch at key times which contributed to losses last week against Brownsboro, Chapel Hill and Kilgore at the Wagstaff Holiday Classic at Tyler Junior College.

All three of 91èÏÈÉú’s opponents were either UIL Class 3A or 4A schools, but Guard head coach Jacob Agnew believes his team’s offensive struggles contributed to its own downfall.

The Guard lost 71-53 in its opening game at the Wagstaff Classic Wednesday against Brownsboro, which went on to reach the final and finish as Gold Bracket runner-up.

91èÏÈÉú matched Brownsboro in the first quarter and led 15-14, but managed a combined 15 points in the second and third quarters to trail 26-23 at halftime and 49-30 entering the fourth. The Guard outscored Brownsboro 23-22 in the final frame, but Coach Agnew said by then the damage had been done.

“We went cold in the second and third quarters and that was the difference,” Agnew said. “When you play a good team like Brownsboro, you can’t have dry spells or they will make you pay.”

Jared Johnson scored 19 points with Parker Galbraith and Alec Kitt also finishing in double figures with 13 and 10, respectively, in the loss.

Next up for the Guard was a matchup Thursday against Chapel Hill, which had lost its opening game to eventual tournament champion Athens. The Guard trailed by four points, 38-34, going into the final quarter, but could not erase the deficit in an eventual 56-44 loss.

“Our shooting woes continued (from Wednesday),” Agnew said. “We can’t shoot 26 percent from the field and expect to win, but we were right there until the end despite not putting the ball in the hole.”

Reid Hill led the Guard with 11 points with Kitt chipping in 10 points in the loss.

The Guard’s final matchup in the holiday tournament was against Kilgore. 91èÏÈÉú began the game ice cold and quickly found itself in a 14-5 hole. The Guard turned things around in the second quarter, outscoring Kilgore 20-9 to go into the locker room with a two-point lead, 25-23.

Kilgore used a 20-point quarter of its own in the third to push past the Guard and hold off 91èÏÈÉú’s comeback efforts in an eventual 61-51 loss. Johnson, Kitt and Galbraith all finished in double figures combining for 39 of 91èÏÈÉú’s 51 points.

The three losses dropped 91èÏÈÉú 7-10 overall with the Guard back home Tuesday to host Big Sandy in a non-district contest slated to begin at 6:15 p.m. at Herrington Gymnasium.

Coach Agnew expressed optimism for 91èÏÈÉú to get back to its winning ways.

“If we can get back to our old shooting form we will be just fine,” Agnew said.

GUARD STATS

Brownsboro 71, 91èÏÈÉú 53

91èÏÈÉú       15   8   7   23  —  53

Brownsboro   14   12   23   22   — 71

Scoring (53): Jared Johnson 19, Alec Kitt 10, Campbell Fletcher 2, Jacob Yeager 2, Reid Hill 3, Jordan Day 2, Miguel Vega 2, Parker Galbraith 13

3-Pointers (3): Parker Galbraith 3

Chapel Hill 56, 91èÏÈÉú 44

91èÏÈÉú    10   9   15   10  —  44

Chapel Hill   10   15   13   18  —  56

Scoring (44): Jared Johnson 9, Alec Kitt 10, Reid Hill 11, Jordan Day 2, Miguel Vega 5, Parker Galbraith 7

3-Pointers (3): Jared Johnson 1, Parker Galbraith 1, Reid Hill 1

Kilgore 61, Bullard 91èÏÈÉú 51

91èÏÈÉú     5   20   12   14  — 51

Kilgore       14    9    23   15 — 61

Scoring (51): Jared Johnson 10, Alec Kitt 15, Parker Galbraith 14, Jacob Yeager 2, Reid Hill 8, Miguel Vega 2

3-Pointers (5): Parker Galbraith 2, Alec Kitt 3