With this being football season, perhaps it's fitting that Lindale and Robert E. Lee provided a low-scoring, defensive struggle.
In basketball, that is.
With points at a premium, Robert E. Lee found just enough offense to pull away and beat Lindale, 47-34, in the final game of the Tyler Area Basketball Officials Annual Scholarship Classic on Saturday night at UT Tyler's Herrington Patriot Center.
To cap an event that featured 13 games in two days, the Red Raiders outscored the Eagles 20-12 in the fourth quarter to improve to 4-0 on the season entering Tuesday's matchup against cross-town rival John Tyler at Tyler Junior College's Wagstaff Gymnasium.
Lee forward Caleb Johnston led all scorers with 18 points, providing nine points in each half to key the Red Raiders' output. Fellow forward Taylor Tankserley added 15 points, completing an 11-0 run with his final basket to increase the Red Raiders' lead to 45-28 with less than a minute remaining.
Lindale, which fell to 1-3 on the season, was paced by junior guard Mason Terry's 11-point effort.
The teams combined for only eight points in the third quarter, but combined for three technical fouls in the second half.
Lee entered the break with a 24-17 lead after outscoring Lindale 15-8 in the second quarter, thanks in large part to three putbacks by Tankersley that helped the Red Raiders build their lead to nine points with less than two minutes left on the clock.
Tankersley, a 6-6 forward, and Johnston, a 6-4 forward, finished the half with nine points each to lead all scorers. Lindale's top scorer in the half was junior guard Court Brown, who took care of the Eagles' first six points on back-to-back 3-pointers before being shut out the rest of the way.
The teams combined for only 19 points in a sluggish first quarter, from which the Red Raiders prevailed with a 10-9 lead. Lee made only two baskets in the quarter, generating half of its points from the foul line after junior Jack Calhoun opened the scoring on a 3-pointer more than a minute into action.
It was the second game of the classic for both teams; Lee opened the event with a 52-42 victory against Chapel Hill, two games after Lindale fell 60-47 to Marshall.
Bishop Gorman 60, Palestine 59
Ben Ashworth poured in a game-high 36 points for the second straight day, plus made the game-winning basket on a free throw with no time remaining to guide Bishop Gorman past Palestine, 60-59, in one of the day's more entertaining games.
Ashworth, an explosive senior guard, drove the lane with time running out and was fouled while attempting a layup. He made the first of two free throws for the victory, moments after scoring on another layup to tie the game at 59-59 with 25 seconds left.
Ashworth's performance helped improve the Crusaders to 3-2 on the season, one day after he scored 36 in a 69-63 victory against Bullard. He was followed in double figures by fellow senior Brandon Lackner, who contributed 12 points.
Shumauri Scott finished with 20 points to lead Palestine, which fell to 0-1. The Wildcats also got double figures performances from Izien Isemede (12 points) and D McMorris (10 points).
Wills Point 60, Pittsburg 42
Wills Point's Darryn York scored the game's first points and never let up, finishing the afternoon with a game-high 28 points as Wills Point rolled past Pittsburg, 60-42.
York, a 6-1 senior guard, scored 20 in the first half alone to help the Tigers build a commanding 32-17 lead at the break. He then helped his team build its advantage to 21 points at the end of the third quarter.
Lane Gevers added 11 points for the Tigers, who raced out to a 9-0 lead during the first two minutes of the game and never trailed. The victory moved Wills Point to 2-1 on the season and the Tigers are 2-0 since the end of football season.
Kel Wallace finished with nine points to pace Pittsburg, which fell to 0-2 on the season.
Jacksonville 61, Brownsboro 56
Jacksonville utilized the contributions of 11 scorers to fend off Brownsboro, 61-56, in the second to last game of the classic.
Ozzian Clayborne led the Indians with 10 points while Raybon Riden and Daytron Thompson contributed nine points each to help Jacksonville improve to 2-0 on the season in this Class 4A vs. 3A matchup.
Jacksonville led 15 points with just over two minutes remaining, but Brownsboro closed the game on a 10-0 run to make the final score a five-point difference.
The Bears, who fell to 1-1, were led by senior forward Patrick McCarthy's game-high 18-point performance. Senior guard Davonte Givens added 12 points.