Game of the week: Friendswood vs. La Marque
By L. Scott Hainline
Chronicle correspondent
It's No. 1 in 24-4A and No. 3 in Texas, La Marque, against No. 2 in district and No. 11 in the state, Friendswood, when the Cougars and Mustangs battle on Tuesday.
Both teams have already secured postseason spots, and now, the runaway district duo will decide who's the best in 24-4A.
ABOUT THE GAME
Matchup: Friendswood at La Marque
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: La Marque High School
What's at stake: 24-4A title
La Marque players to watch: G Julien Lewis, F Wesley Henderson, G Jordan Dotson, W Darrian Provost Johnson, F Quevin Cams
Friendswood players to watch: PG Byron Randle, P Mark Garza, G Connor Neuman, G Nolan Harvey, G Jackson Griffon, G James Petri
TEAM HIGHLIGHTS
La Marque: The Cougars have a leg up (actually one game) after winning 60-43 at Friendswood during the first round on Jan. 15. Lewis scored 20 and Dotson had 14 points to lead La Marque in the first meeting. La Marque had a couple of close calls in the first round edging Texas City 61-58 and Dawson 69-67, but since the midway point of the race, the Cougars have taken care of business against Brazosport 78-56, Texas City 90-76 and Santa Fe 97-54. La Marque, which lost to Port Arthur Memorial 51-49 and Elkins 97-92 in predistrict, wraps up its 24-4A slate with 7:30 p.m. outings at Angleton Friday and at home against Dawson Tuesday.
Friendswood: The Mustangs had only two players Garza 11 and Griffon 10 scoring in double figures against La Marque last month. In that game, Friendswood trailed 15-12 after one quarter, but fell behind 36-18 by halftime after coming up on the short end of a 21-6 second period. It was pretty much even after that with the Mustangs outscoring the Cougars 10-8 in the third and La Marque winning the fourth 16-15. After the loss, Friendswood won five straight over Texas City 56-54 in overtime, Angleton 64-55, Santa Fe 52-32, Dawson 46-44 and Manvel 55-38. The Mustangs are at Texas City Friday and host Angleton Tuesday in 7:30 p.m. starts.
