ABILENE — Whether Brownfield was an underdog in Tuesday’s state semifinal against Dallas Madison depends on who you ask.
The rankings would certainly suggest as much. Despite the Cubs’ spot at No. 9 in Class 3A, no one finished ahead of Madison in the final poll by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
Ask Trae Timmins, however, and the answer is clear. Brownfield’s players simply saw the Trojans as another opponent. The last team standing between the Cubs and the Alamodome.
It’s understandable that’s the senior guard’s mentality. If Brownfield looked at every talented team with a taller roster as Goliath, the motivation of the underdog role would wear off quickly.
The Cubs entered the matchup at Moody Coliseum ready to scrap one step closer to a state championship. Their trademark grit was there, but Madison separated enough with a third-quarter run to advance to the 3A Division I championship with a 78-71 win.
“We came in here knowing we could win and knowing what we’re capable of,” Timmins said, “because our guys, we work at this every day in the gym. We just took it as another game we’ve got to go and win.”
That showed in the first half. Brownfield used an 8-0 run to take a 12-9 lead and was tied after the first quarter. The Cubs fell behind by 11 but were within 32-29 at the break.
“That’s how our guys have played all year,” Brownfield coach Zayne McPherson said. “… Our guys, they’ve played their whole lives being the smallest guys, so they’re used to playing that way. They did a good job battling through that tonight.”
McPherson pointed to two stretches — a 10-2 run in the second quarter and a 10-0 spurt in the third — as the difference in the game. The latter came after the Cubs took a 39-36 lead on a Timmins bucket.
That grew into a 19-3 run as Madison went up 13 early in the fourth quarter. McPherson conceded part of that was fatigue for a starting five that was often relied upon to play an entire 32 minutes.
“They’re used to that, but in a game like this where it’s up and down the floor and you’ve got to be on your game the whole time, it kind of grinds on you,” McPherson said. “I felt like those two runs, the first-half one and the second-half one, I think both times that was a lot of it was just we were tired.”
So ended Brownfield’s first trip to the semifinals since winning it all in 2016. Jeron Lawrence finished with a 23 points, while Kanyon Cantrell added 15 and Timmins 14.
“We came out, and we tried our hardest,” Timmins said. “We fought to the end; that’s all I can ask of my guys, honestly. There’s more we could do, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, man. It’s life; it’s gonna happen. Ups and downs.”
The ups included a dramatic comeback with over Shallowater in the regional final. Timmins scored the game-winner after the Cubs trailed by three with less than 10 seconds to go. Brownfield went undefeated through District 3-3A, which included Division II regional finalist Lamesa.
Overall, the Cubs finished 30-7 after an 0-3 start. It was a memorable final go for the seniors, who envisioned a season like this since they were in middle school.
“It’s been our dream to go to state since we were in seventh grade,” Timmins said, “… Once we all came back together, man, I just felt like we’re unstoppable. I’d take my five over anybody else’s five, any day. No matter the loss, I wouldn’t want to change this or have this moment with nobody else. Those are my guys.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Undersized Brownfield goes down swinging vs No. 1 Dallas Madison
Reporting by Stephen Garcia, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
