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San Saba High School boys varsity basketball junior forward Noah Martinez (12) puts up a contested shot on Friday, February 11th, during the Dillos’ 45-34 victory at home vs. district rival Goldthwaite High School. (Photo by Rita Boultinghouse) -
San Saba High School girls varsity basketball senior guard Maritza Aguirre (4) plays tight defense on Tuesday, February 8th, during the Lady Dillos’ 37-35 loss at home to district rival Mason High School. (Photo by Rita Boultinghouse)
The San Saba High School boys varsity basketball team had an eventful week at home as the Dillos took a giant leap towards winning their third straight district championship with victories over Mason High School and rival Goldthwaite High School.
San Saba Dillos 59, Mason Punchers 38
This was a game that San Saba absolutely needed to have at home in order to keep pace with Goldthwaite, and the Dillos did just that as they handled business with a commanding 59-38 victory against the Mason Punchers.
The visiting Punchers had no answer for stopping Dillos senior guard Reagan Mejia, who continued his case as the frontrunner for District 29-2A Most Valuable Player by going off for a game-high 24 points in the win.
San Saba also got a great game from junior forward Noah Martinez, who scored in double figures for the Dillos with 14 points. Senior guard Drake Bryant had quite a solid game for himself with nine points of his own.
The Dillos were in complete control in this most recent contest, which was not the case when these two teams played each other back on January 14 with San Saba holding off a furious Punchers rally in the second half for a 43-39 victory at Mason.
San Saba Dillos 45, Goldthwaite Eagles 34
Revenge was very sweet for San Saba on February 11 as the Dillos came away with a gritty 45-34 win at home against the rival Eagles, avenging a heartbreaking 52-48 overtime loss on January 18 up in Goldthwaite.
The star of the game for the Dillos was junior forward Dylan Ware, who caused all sorts of problems in the paint for the smaller Eagles as he led all scorers with a game-high 17 points.
As a team, San Saba was relentless on defense and forced a lot of Goldthwaite turnovers that resulted in key points at the other end to propel the Dillos to a 24-11 lead at halftime.
However, Goldthwaite had a big rally in the third quarter and cut the San Saba lead to just 28-24 just like that. The Dillos did not flinch, regained composure, and were able to keep the Eagles at bay the rest of the way.
The Dillos (18-8 overall re cord and 10-1 mark in District 29-2A play) will look to clinch the district championship outright on Tuesday, February 15, in the regular-season finale on the road against Johnson City High School. San Saba smacked the Eagles 63-31 in the previous meeting on January 21 between the two squads.
Be sure to check out next week’s edition of the San Saba News & Star for more updates on Dillos and Lady Dillos varsity athletics. Sports editor Andrew Salmi can be contacted via email at salmi.courier@gmail.com or by cell phone at (818) 645-1115.