by MARK CAUL

It had all the intensity of a playoff game as the Hays and Lehman boys basketball squads battled Friday night at Bales Gym with a packed Bales Gym crowd looking on.

Hays’ Isaiah Williams rises high over Lehman defenders Dane Peddycoart and Jonathan Garrion to nail a key jumper late in the Rebels 44-40 win at Bales Gym Friday night. Hays has now won two straight District 17-4A games after dropping its first four. PHOTO by JUDY COOPER

In a nip-and-tuck contest on which neither team led by more than five points, Hays used a couple of late baskets by Isaiah Williams and Caleb Kimbro to push past Lehman 44-40 in the first match-up of the year between the two heated rivals.

“I was proud of the way my kids kept their composure after getting down midway through the fourth quarter,” Hays head coach Kris Fuller said. “We did an outstanding job defending their inside game tonight and that was the key.”

The pivotal defensive play in the game came as Hays freshman Kimbro missed a driving layup attempt with the Lobos up 38-37 with just under two minutes to play.

It appeared as if Lehman’s Adam Woodworth and Jonathan Garrion had the rebound secured, as the Hays players retreated to get back on defense.
That’s when Kimbro snuck in between the two taller Lobos and grabbed the ball. He converted the steal into a layup and was fouled by Garrion on the play.

Kimbro made the free throw, giving the Rebels a 40-38 advantage.

“That was the biggest play of the game,” Lehman head coach Thomas Acker said. “That showed how much more their guys wanted it than our guys did.”

The Lobos (6-16, 2-4) had a momentum shifting play of their own seconds before the half ended as Lehman freshman guard De’Andre Carson stole a pass from Kimbro and fired ahead to Garrion, who buried a long 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded giving the Lobos a 27-24 halftime cushion.

Hays (6-16, 2-4) has now won two straight District 17-4A games after dropping its first four.

The two teams will meet again in the final district game on Feb. 16 at the Lobo Den.