Water Valley the Area’s Last Boys Basketball Team Standing After Hamlin Win

BAIRD, TX — And then there was one.

After a regional semifinal round of the playoffs that wasn’t kind to our area boys basketball teams, the No. 19-ranked Water Valley Wildcats are now the last team standing in the Concho Valley after their 72-49 win over Hamlin on Tuesday.

It was a two-point game at halftime before Water Valley pulled away down the stretch, powered by a combined 45 points from the Lacy brothers — 27 from Landon and 18 from Branson.

Lance Doss also made his first start of the season after Cutter Lange rolled his ankle in practice, and the freshman came through with 14 points.

Water Valley improved to 22-3 as the Wildcats have won 12 in a row and 19 of their last 20.

They’re back in the Class 1A Division I regional final for the second consecutive year where they’ll face No. 6 Munday (28-9) in a game tentatively set for Friday at Abilene Christian University, though it’s not official yet.

Water Valley head coach Matthew Mims said his team was in a battle for much of the night against Hamlin (20-13).

“It was close for the first three quarters. Hamlin came out and played pretty well, but we ended up pulling away in the fourth,” Mims said. “Hamlin came out and hit some big shots and played well at the beginning of the game. We kind of had to find our rhythm on the defensive end in the second half. We made some adjustments and got back to where we’re supposed to be.”

Mims said Hamlin deployed a triangle-and-2 defensive strategy to try and slow down the Lacy brothers, meaning the Pied Pipers manned up the Lacys all game while the other three defenders played zone.

“They had to play through a lot of physicality,” Mims said “They were face guarded the entire game, and they were still able to combine for 45 points.”

Doss delivering a 14-point performance was also a critical contribution after the Wildcats lost a starter.

“That was big time, and he’s kind of stepped up throughout the playoffs,” Mims said. “He was averaging about four points a game heading into the playoffs, and now he’s had 10, 10 and 14 in our three playoff games. It’s been big time for us and made a big difference to have another kid step up like that.”

Mims said Water Valley’s road through District 11-1A helped prepare his team for this type of playoff run. The district has won eight playoff trophies the last two weeks. Veribest and Robert Lee each won two, while Garden City also won a playoff game.

“It’s an extremely deep 1A district,” Mims said. “They’re all tough teams and super well coached. … It makes a big difference preparing you for the playoffs. Sometimes the worst thing you can do is go through district and not have any tough contests before these big games, especially on a night like last night.”

Water Valley will now set its sights on its next game, which is a playoff rematch. The Wildcats knocked Munday out in the regional semifinals last year in a 45-40 game.

Munday has won 15 of its last 16 games, with the only loss coming in a playoff warmup against Class 2A Forsan, and it was a respectable 59-56 showing.

The Moguls beat No. 18 Buena Vista 55-42 on Tuesday.

“You’re talking about one of the best teams in 1A. They are legit,” Mims said. “They have good height, speed, athleticism, shooting — they’re not missing much. So it’s going to take everything we’ve got. We pulled one out against them last year. It was a dogfight then, and I’m expecting it to be a dogfight again. And I’m expecting them to have a chip on their shoulder this year, so we’re going to have to play our best basketball if we want to have a chance at winning.”