LINDALE — Lindale and Nacogdoches split a pair of District 16-4A basketball games Tuesday night at the LHS Gymnasium.
The Lindale girls opened the night with a 64-60 victory in a matchup of league unbeatens, while the Nacogdoches boys led from wire-to-wire to register a 54-43 victory in the night’s final game.
GIRLS
The Lady Eagles used a big run in the fourth quarter to turn a deficit into a heart-stopping win to take control of first place in the district. Lindale outscored the Lady Dragons 14-0 during a two-minute plus stretch in the final minutes after trailing by eight, 54-46, with 4:05 left.
Junior post Natasha Malone was once again the Lady Eagles’ top performer, finishing the night with 17 points against a Nacogdoches team that also featured size in the paint. Fellow junior MaKenna Allen and senior Neeley Doss contributed 10 points each for the Lady Eagles, whose biggest lead in the fourth was seven points, 63-56, with 27.6 seconds remaining.
Nacogdoches was paced by Justice Lockett and Charity Page, who finished with 20 points and 15 points, respectively.
Lindale improved to 20-4 on the season and 4-0 in 16-4A with the victory, while Nacogdoches fell to 17-8 overall and 3-1 in the league.
Lindale went into the break leading 30-29, thanks in part to a first-half performance by Malone that featured eight points and five rebounds. The Lady Eagles trailed 14-10 after the first quarter, but used a 9-2 run to move in front 19-16 with 5:40 left in the half.
Lockett finished the half with 14 points to lead all players. Fellow Lady Dragon Christy Whitaker drained a midcourt 3-pointer with no time remaining to close the gap to one at the break.
BOYS
Nacogdoches raced out to a 10-4 lead in the first five minutes of the opening quarter and never looked back en route to the double figures victory.
The Dragons led by 19 points, 33-14, at halftime and increased the advantage to 38-14 early in the third, but Lindale closed the game strong and pulled to within eight in the fourth.
Nacogdoches’ Austin Willeford scored 17 points to lead all scorers, finishing the opening half with 10 points.
Lindale’s Mason Terry and Court Brown finished with 13 points and 10 points, respectively.
Nacogdoches improved to 12-8 on the season and 1-1 in 16-4A, while Lindale fell to 9-12 overall and 0-2 in the league.
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District 16-4A Girls
Lindale 64, Nacogdoches 60
Nacogdoches 14 15 16 15 — 60
Lindale 10 20 13 21 — 64
NACOGDOCHES — Ki’Audra Hayter, 6; Justice Lockett, 20; Charity Page, 15; Brittiannni Philips, 2; Christy Whitaker, 9; Jasmine Williams, 2; E.J. Johnson, 6.
LINDALE — Hannah Malone, 7; Natasha Malone, 17; Makenna Allen, 10; Paige Murphy, 6; Neeley Doss, 10; Zhanelle Geathers, 8; Ashley Lacy, 2; Hannah Brown, 4.
THREE POINT GOALS — N: Whitaker. L: Doss.
RECORDS — Nacogdoches 17-8 (3-1); Lindale 20-4 (4-0).
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District 16-4A Boys
Nacogdoches 54, Lindale 43
Nacogdoches 12 21 9 12 — 54
Lindale 8 6 16 13 — 43
NACOGDOCHES — Sanders, 6; Austin Willeford, 17; L.J. Barnes, 4; Mason Proctor, 4; Patrick Sanders, 1; Ja’Corey Garrett, 2; De’ante Riggins, 6; Kyle Winfield, 5; Kwa’ Jones 9.
LINDALE — Court Brown, 10; Mason Terry, 13; Garrett Sir Louis, 6; Kolton Pierce, 6; Jacob Capo, 6; Connor Lind, 2.
THREE POINT GOALS — N: Riggins (2), Willeford (3), Winfield. L: Terry, Brown.
JV SCORE — Lindale 36, Nacogdoches 24.
FRESHMAN — Lindale 34, Nacogdoches 29.
RECORDS — Nacogdoches 12-8 (1-1); Lindale 9-12 (0-2).