THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Levelland High School Athletics

LEVELLAND — Levelland head coach Jeff Bontrager knew it wasn’t going to be easy to stay undefeated in District 2-4A play against Brownfield on Tuesday night. The Lobos coach, who was looking to earn his 400th career win, did so thanks to a strong individual performance from a freshman guard. Isaiah Salazar netted a team-high 15 points, helping Levelland earn a 61-51 home victory against a sharp-shooting Cubs squad. “(The Cubs are) fighters,” said Bontrager, whose team is 18-5 overall and 2-0 in district. “They cut the lead down, but our guys got a couple of easy baskets of their own and did what we needed to do to finish it out.” After congratulating his players, Bontrager was met with a banner mid-court to commemorate his win. “I’ve had some good teams over the years, and it really is fitting that these guys were a part of it,” he said. “It’s a team that came in and didn’t have much experience and didn’t have a lot of expectations. To get this in a big-time district game against a traditional rival makes it that much more special for me.” The second half became heated as the Lobos attempted to fend off a late-game rally by the Cubs (9-12, 0-2). After trailing by 11 points at the end of the first half, Brownfield opened up the third quarter on a five-point run to close the margin to two possessions. Cub junior guard Brock Sires drilled a 3-pointer and junior guard Zach Muniz hit a jump shot to put things at 30-24 with 7:09 left in the third quarter. Levelland junior forward Broderick Golighty drew a foul and split a pair of free-throws to end the run and set up a five-point mini-run with 6:32 left in the third. Lobo junior forward Reid O’Conner and junior guard Jakeevian Ford scored two points apiece in the next 31 seconds to help fuel the run and increase the advantage to 35-24. Levelland held a 43-29 lead going into the fourth thanks to its ability to answer the Cubs offense. But it needed to continue to battle against a scrappy Brownfield squad to earn the victory. Muniz sank back-to-back, three-point shots with 1:09 left in the game. He finished the night with eight 3-pointers, five coming in the fourth quarter. “At the very start of the game we were giving up some offensive rebounds that allowed for them to get some put backs,” Bontrager said. “Once we get on the boards a little better, limiting their shots, I thought our man defense played pretty good.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Levelland High School Athletics

BONTRAGER RECORDS 400TH CAREER WIN IN LOBOS VICTORY

BRYAN NAVARETTE

Lubbock Avalanche Journal | 1/17/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Brad Tollefson