Surely, this is how it’s supposed to work.
It’s supposed to sound like chatter — with talking and communication on the defensive end, leading to stops.
It’s supposed to look like a flash — during a quick charge up the court in transition.
It’s supposed to feel just right — when the ball sails off the wrist, headed for nylon.
All of it clicked for Odessa High on Tuesday.
Call it a sensational performance for the Bronchos.
The Odessa High boys basketball team put it together and rolled to an 87-58 win over San Angelo Central in the OHS Fieldhouse on Tuesday afternoon, to send the Bronchos into the Thanksgiving break a perfect 4-0, after hanging nearly 90 in a complete effort against old West Texas rivals.
“It should be like this every game,” junior guard Josh Cabello said moments after the win.
Cabello and fellow guard Isaac Hernandez each scored 22 points. Junior guard Kaleb Murry added another 18, while forwards Memo Anaya and Cole Bordner chipped in nine apiece.
Cabello scored 16 in the first half alone, sinking four 3-pointers in the first 16 minutes, Hernandez scored 14 first-half points and Murry scored nine in the first two quarters, to help give the Bronchos a commanding 47-27 lead by halftime.
Odessa High jumped on Central early, building a 19-10 lead by the end of the first quarter, and never slowed from there on its way to a season high in scoring — against Class 6A rivals.
“It’s the best feeling,” Murry said. “To put 80 points on a team like that is really good.”
Odessa High put together a 10-2 run late in first quarter to lead by nine at the end of the opening frame, then exploded into the second with an 8-1 run, capped by a Hernandez 3-pointer that made it 27-11 less than two minutes into the second.
San Angelo Central cut that margin to seven at 29-22 in the next moments, but the Bronchos kept their footing. Cabello knocked down a 3-pointer midway through the period to put Odessa High up 32-22, then after an exchange of baskets, dropped in another from range to make it 37-24.
Central scored the next three points, but that only set up a 10-0 run for the Bronchos in the final three minutes of the half.
Murry scored in transition to get Odessa High back to a 16-point lead at 43-27, then knocked down a pair of free throws, before Hernandez scored quickly in transition to put the Bronchos up 20 and give the game its halftime score.
Odessa High kept firing in the second half. Hernandez sank a 3-pointer to put the Bronchos up 30 at 63-38 with 2:40 left in the third.
The Bronchos hit 12 3-pointers in the win.
“Central is a very good basketball school in West Texas,” Odessa High head coach Jance Morris said. “If we want to change the program here, that’s something we need to be able to do, is have those big wins.”
It was a big performance for Odessa High, but, of course, it wasn’t perfect.
San Angelo Central had its moments, led by Dariell Taylor and his 26 points, and the Bronchos suffered through their own scoring spells at points during the win.
The Bronchos played winning basketball Tuesday — but for Morris, it’s about his team playing more of it.
“I told them, at times, we looked like a pretty good basketball team,” Morris said. “If we put 32 minutes of that together, we will be tough to beat.
“But, also, at times, we let up, we didn’t talk on the defensive end on several possessions, gave up some offensive rebounds. Just the big deal with us is consistency.”
After a break, the Bronchos will be back in action at the Doug McCutchen Memorial Invitational in San Angelo, opening Nov. 30.
The Bronchos will also play in the Decatur Invitational and the Byron Johnson Tournament in December, before district play opens in January.
“We talked about how it’s tournament season coming up, and we’re not going to have hardly any practices, so we have to get better in games and make adjustments in games, so now we’re on to a new part of the season,” Morris said.
“Let’s see how we can handle that.”
