Sam Rayburn's Stephen Alaniz plays keep-away with South Houston's Erric Cabrera during second-half action.
Elton Dyer, set to sign a football letter of intent next week with the University of Houston, scored 19 on the basketball court Wednesday night to lead South Houston to a 66-56 payback victory over Sam Rayburn that pushed the Trojans a step closer to nailing down the No. 3 playoff spot in District 22-5A.
The Trojans, now 19-9 for the season, exploded in the second and third quarters and handily made amends for a double-overtime loss to Sam Rayburn in the Texans’ gym to start the month of January.
The victory hiked South Houston’s district record to 7-3, two games ahead of the fourth-place Texans.
The Trojans picked up 16 points from Erric Cabrera, 13 of them coming in the second half when Sam Rayburn made brief threats to climb back into the game. The Texans’ charge was led by Ruben Olivares, who scored a game-high 20 points, 14 of which came in the second half.
South Houston led 29-25 at halftime before rolling up 24 points in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Dyer extended the Trojans’ lead to 15 points in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
Still, the Texans closed the margin to six on a pair of Justin Jaramillo free throws with 1:29 left. The Trojans put the game away on a drive to the basket by Cabrera with 1:13 on the clock and two free throws by Jacolby Rogers a half-minute later.
Nick Hernandez added 10 points for the Trojans. Jaramillo scored 13 while teammate Deante Hunt added 10.
The Texans stand 17-12 for the season. Now 5-5 in district play, Sam Rayburn maintains a one-game lead over Pasadena for the fourth and final 22-5A playoff spot.
Texans point guard Justin Jaramillo looks for a pass inside.
South Houston's Nick Hernandez and Sam Rayburn's Ruben Olivares battle in close quarters for a rebound.
Anatomy of an alley-oop: South Houston's Jacolby Rogers (15) lays the ball up for teammate Elton Dyer, who lays down the dunk.
Sam Rayburn's Stephen Alaniz works the ball past South Houston's Jermaine Stevens.
Sam Rayburn's Deante Hunt plants a two-point jumper.
Trojans Coach Patrick McCoy and staff watch the second-half action unfold.