As 2011 kicks off, so will the district season for local high school basketball teams.

The Magnolia Bulldogs boys’ squad, at 14-5 overall, began their district season a little earlier than most area teams, with a 73-65 loss to Stratford Dec. 17. The Bulldogs are in the midst of a two-week hiatus from 17-4A play before they return to action Jan. 4 when they travel across town to take on Magnolia West.

The Bulldogs will be looking to continue their hot start and qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season. Last year, Magnolia finished 9-5 in 18-4A, good for third place in the district. They dropped out of the playoffs with a first round loss to Manvel.

With senior Jarard Hood leading the way with an average of 15.7 points per game and junior guard Jesse Jones nearly as prolific a scorer, averaging 15.4 points per game, the Bulldogs have the upper classmen leadership necessary to make a strong playoff run.

One of the early season highlights for the Bulldogs was their appearance at the Splendora Basketball Invitational Dec. 9-11. Magnolia went 3-0 in the tournament, defeating Willis, 84-51, Spurger, 57-33, and New Waverly, 69-55.

The Bulldogs also fared well in the Seguin Tournament, going 2-1 with wins over San Antonio Alamo Heights and Pleasanton.

The Tomball Cougars began district play Dec. 31 with a home game against Spring. Results of that game were unavailable at press time last week.

Following a three-day break, the Cougars will return to 13-5A action when they travel to take on Klein Forest at 7 p.m.

The Cougars pulled one game above the .500 mark with a Dec. 28 victory over Cy-Creek in the final tune up before district play tips off.

Senior guard Ronnie Harrison scored a game-high 22 points, while Marque Booker added 20 on the way to the Cougars’ 65-57 victory.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed