BAY CITY 鈥 Bay City head coach Carl Edwards knew La Marque would do its best to play at a fast tempo.
La Marque took control of the flow of the game late in the first quarter and cruised to a 60-38 District 29-4A win Friday night at the Bay City gym.
Edwards hoped the Blackcats would be able to stay under control.
鈥淭hey did a good job of speeding us up,鈥 Edwards said. 鈥淢y message to our guys was we鈥檝e got to be able to handle it. When the pressure comes, we鈥檝e got to be still under control and get into our stuff. They did a good job of getting us out of our stuff and chaotic. That鈥檚 not when we thrive. We thrive when under more structure.鈥
The No. 5 Cougars (24-2) improved to 3-0 in district by holding Bay City (7-5, 2-1) to single digits in each of the first three quarters.
鈥淥ur strength is getting to the basket and kicking and shooting,鈥 Bay City sophomore Javius Andrews said. 鈥淲e keep running around and try to get a shot off. We can鈥檛 be turning the ball over and be in such a panic. We have to keep driving and try to get to the hole.鈥
La Marque closed out the first quarter with a 5-0 run and outscored the Blackcats 8-2 to start the second quarter.
Bay City鈥檚 lone field goal in the second quarter, a 3-pointer, came from AJ Molina, who had 12 points.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to see pressure from them like you see from nobody else in this district,鈥 Edwards said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e fast and they can play. We saw the best team in the district so maybe next time we鈥檒l be able to handle that a little bit better.鈥
The Cougars did get a number of offensive rebounds, which led to layups underneath the basket.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not a very big team. I think our tallest starter is maybe 5-foot-10, to be generous,鈥 Edwards said. 鈥淲e were obviously outmatched on the boards. That鈥檚 why we played a lot of man-to-man.鈥
Edwards remains optimistic about the Blackcats鈥 chances in district play.
鈥淚鈥檓 very pleased with our start,鈥 he said. 鈥淭onight was a bump in the road. They鈥檙e the favorite in our district this year. They鈥檙e tough and fast and they have a lot of returners.鈥
District 29-4A
La Marque 60, Bay City 38
Points: (LM) Brendon Harris 17, Jecaryous Oliver 9, Joshua Minix 12, Marziah Bell 3, Jasiya Johnson 5, Jorden Lusk 8, Robert Scurry 2, Brandon Harris 4. (BC) AJ Molina 12, Alex Estrada 5, Brayden Ellis 3, Javius Andrews 9, Jaden Malone 9.
Halftime: La Marque 29-15. 3-pointers: Oliver, Bell, Molina 2, Malone. Records: La Marque 24-2, 3-0; Bay City 7-5, 2-1.
