SKIDMORE-TYNAN - The battle tested Bobcats woke up for practice on Saturday morning after probably the most exciting week of basketball in their lives. Sophomore Alexander Gonzalez hit a half-court buzzer beater at Woodsboro to win a 47-44 contest on Tuesday, and then they ended #15 Port Aransas’ 133 game district win streak at home just two days later.  Port Aransas Senior Kristopher Jones was coming off a 56 point performance against Refurio, but he was held to 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists on Friday night by Junior Bennett Martinez and the rest of the Bobcat defense.  The game was tough, physical, and played primarily in the half court.  The final score being 27-23, with neither team shooting over 25% from the field.  

The first time the Bobcats and Marlins squared off, the Marlins came up on top 57-37 at The Fish Tank.  All-State player Kristopher Jones had a lot of help last time with 2 other Marlins scoring 10 points. Head Coach Kent Benedict said, “The game plan was simple. We can’t have those other guys hurt us again.  And we have to tire Kristopher Jones out.  We put him in a lot of ball screen situations, and we really made him work on the defensive end for 4 straight quarters.” 

Coach Benedict said that there was no fear coming into Friday’s game because his team was in a similar position earlier in the year.  “We scheduled McMullen County twice this season to try to show our guys that we could compete and beat a state ranked team.” McMullen County is similar to Port Aransas in that they don’t have football, so a lot of their kids are in the gym year round.  “McMullen pulled away from us the first time we played, but when we played them the second time it was different. We played them a lot closer.”  So when it was time to take on the state ranked Marlins a second time, they were ready.  “We were playing at home with a lot of confidence and a packed house behind us.  Our kids responded very well, coming off an emotional rollercoaster of a win,” Coach Benedict said. 

The Bobcats defense this year has been impressive, only allowing 40 or more points in 6 of their 28 total games so far, topping off their season by holding powerhouse Port Aransas to 23 points, shooting 17% from the field, 8% from three, and 17% from the free throw line.

For every basketball team in America, there comes a time where you get knocked down. You face some sort of adversity. Skidmore-Tynan’s group of young men are resilient. The fight they have had this year has been impressive, and it's the reason they came up with the win on Friday night. When asked about the construct of the team Coach Benedict said, “My kids understand that to get to where we want to go, we can’t just roll the balls out and expect to win, you have to earn every possession in practice. If it’s the leading scorer, or the last man on the bench, they are a TEAM. These boys are mentally tough; they have a tremendous amount of resiliency and find ways to win.”

Skidmore-Tynan (23-5 overall, 7-2 district) plays at Yorktown (3-24 overall, 1-8 district) this Tuesday at 7:30 pm and looks to keep their momentum going into the rest of district play.

Skidmore-Tynan Players to Watch

Jr. #21 Bennett Martinez: 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals

Jr. #35 Cole Rivers: 7 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists 

So. #2 Alexander Gonzalez: 6 points, and 3 assists