A 21-point performance from Coco Rose led the Odessa High boys basketball team to a 54-52 victory over San Angelo Central Friday at the OHS Fieldhouse.
With less than 10 seconds left in regulation, the guard drove into the paint and finished a contested layup over two Bobcat defenders to give his team the lead.
After holding San Angelo Central off with 2.9 seconds on the clock, the Bronchos sealed their fifth District 2-6A victory of the season.
Rose said it feels good to see his team in second place in the standings after closing out the first half of its district schedule.
“Last year, I know we weren’t 5-1 so that’s a real big jump for this year,” Rose said. “We did lose a game, so of course we have some stuff to work on.”
Although Rose didn’t get out to the quickest start in the first quarter, the Bronchos had other players step up to help them grab an early lead.
Ivan Carreon was an important piece for the Bronchos offensively through the first period, scoring eight points to give his team an edge.
The 6-foot-6 forward used his frame to his advantage on multiple occasions, at one point finishing an alley-oop to put the Bronchos up 13-8.
San Angelo Central used the second quarter to exhibit its speed on both ends of the floor, outscoring the Bronchos 18-12 to end the first half with a one-point lead.
There was little-to-no separation through the second half, until the game’s final minutes when Rose provided some of his most impactful plays of the game.
He scored eight points in the fourth quarter to propel the Bronchos.
Odessa High boys coach Neal Welch said his team got away from what it was doing well early in the game, which led to an 0-11 shooting stretch from the 3-point line in the first half.
When the Bronchos got back to attacking the rim, they found more success beyond the arc.
“We shot rhythm 3s, we talked about the difference of rhythm 3s and just shooting 3s,” Welch said. “The second half was much better, we played kind of sloppy there but that’s credit to San Angelo because they have really good pressure defense.”
LJ Willis contributed 13 points in the win, while Branden Campbell led the Bobcats with 22.
The Bronchos (21-5 overall, 5-1 district) will play Permian at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the OHS Fieldhouse.
>> Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
Odessa High 54, San Angelo Central 52
Friday, OHS Fieldhouse
SAN ANGELO CENTRAL (18-7, 3-3)
Jaden Sellers 1 0-0 3, Daniel Gallegos 0 0-0 0, Mathew Cooper 1 0-0 2, Branden Campbell 9 3-3 22, Raven Ortiz 3 0-0 6, Dominic Ruiz 0 0-0 0, Jacob English 1 0-0 2, Chace Fields 3 0-0 6, Joseph Rowe-Pearce 2 1-2 7, Kollin Allbright 0 0-0 0, Jaedyn Gipson 1 0-0 2, Mark Holloman 0 0-0 0, Samuel Ramos 0 0-0 0, Dre Young 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 4-5 52.
ODESSA HIGH (21-5, 5-1)
Coco Rose 8 5-6 21, Caleb Ramirez 2 0-0 5, Adrian Muzquiz 0 0-0 0, Jaylen McCowan 2 1-2 5, Ivan Carreon 5 0-0 10, Austin Marquez 0 0-0 0, LJ Willis 4 5-6 13, Christian Contee 0 0-0 0, Jordan Bruner 0 0-0 0, Richie Aguilar 0 0-0 0, Joshua Austin 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 11-14 54.
San Angelo Central… 8.. 18 16 10 — 52
Odessa High……….. 13.. 12 16 13 — 54
3-Point goals — San Angelo Central 4 (Sellers 1, Campbell 1, Rowe-Pearce 2), Odessa High 1 (Ramirez 1). Total fouls — San Angelo Central 15, Odessa High 12. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None.
