Problem was, it was all on one side.
The host Palo Duro Dons and crosstown rival Tascosa Rebels carried plenty of optimism into their district opener, resulting in an enthusiastic crowd.
Only the home team went home happy and it was at great expense to the visitors, as Palo Duro dominated just about the entire way in cruising to a 68-35 victory.
Palo Duro (16-4, 1-0 in district) proved to be as good as advertised in thumping Tascosa, and the Dons sent a message that they’ll be a major force to be reckoned with in district play. Marquis Loftis, a Palo Duro alum in his first year as head coach at his alma mater, was pleasantly surprised with the ease of his maiden district victory.
“It’s actually better than I would have scripted it,” Loftis said. “It’s way better. I felt we could have beat them by 10 or maybe 15. I thought it would be a close one and I didn’t see this coming.”
Tascosa probably didn’t either. The Dons were never seriously threatened, and they set the tone with a hot-shooting first quarter in which they took a 24-7 lead.
Palo Duro hit six 3-pointers in the first quarter, setting the tone for a contest in which they hit 14 from beyond the arc. Eli Igiranez had the hottest hand for the Dons to open the game, hitting four treys and scoring 14 points to carry PD offensively in the first quarter.
“Everybody thought it was a two-headed monster in Victor and Alain (Nziza), but Eli’s come on and I knew he could be that player,” Loftis said. “I just wanted him to bring it out. He found his confidence and I’m loving it.”
Palo Duro led by as many as 20 in the first half, but Tascosa showed some signs of life to close the first half, scoring the final eight points before intermission to cut it to 34-22 at halftime and stoke hopes for a competitive game. Then it was time for Juarez to show his stuff.
Juarez carried the Dons in the third quarter, scoring 15 points, the first nine of which came on 3-pointers. He finished with a game-high 27 points, and by the end of the period, Palo Duro was up 57-33 and cruising to a district-opening victory.
“I’m always a leader, so if I’m doing good that helps the team, and if the team is doing good, then I’m feeding off that too,” Juarez said. “In the first half I was off so I had to feed of their energy in the second half. Our team is never selfish. If someone is cooking, give them the ball, and if they miss, just get back on defense.”
Unfortunately for Tascosa, no one ever got too hot offensively. Jailyn Sledge, Tascosa’s leading scorer who has signed with West Texas A&M, finished with only 11 points, but was still the team’s leading scorer against the Dons.
Tascosa 7 22 33 35
Palo Duro 24 34 57 68
T– Jailyn Sledge 11, Jacorey Fields 9. PD– Victor Juarez 27, Eli Igiranez 16. Records: Tascosa 18-7, 0-1; Palo Duro 16-4, 1-0.
