Highlanders ice out A&M Consol

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Xavier Valdes led a trio of double-figure scorers with 12 points and The Woodlands High School boys’ basketball team turned back A&M Consolidated, 61-46, Saturday.

In a game originally scheduled for Friday, but postponed by icy conditions, the Highlanders forged an early lead and controlled the tempo for four quarters.

Cameron Burkett and birthday boy Cody Mason scored 10 points each while Kyle Schnakenburg added six points as the Highlanders improved to 7-1 in District 14-5A play and 21-7 overall.

While the circumstances of the game were a bit unusual, the team did not allow that to be a distraction.

“You don’t get much student body on a Saturday afternoon,” Highlanders coach Dale Reed said. “It’s just a weird environment.

“But I thought our guys did a great job coming in focused. We weren’t able to practice at all yesterday. And our guys came in focused and worked on what we prepared for this week. I’m really proud of how our guys played.”

The Woodlands held a comfortable 29-18 lead at halftime and were never threatened, increasing that margin to 36-21 midway through the third quarter.

The lead ballooned to 52-31 with 6:13 left in the fourth quarter before Reed cleared the bench.

“We did some really good things offensively and defensively,” Reed said. “I liked the way our focus was. It’s hard on a high school kid when you’re in a routine and all of a sudden your routine gets totally changed. So, I really liked what we did.”

The Highlanders travel to Lufkin for a 7 p.m. Tuesday tester.

“It’s a tough place to play,” Reed said. “It’s hard to go in there and get a win. So we’re going to have to have a great practice on Monday and just really go in there again with that same kind of focus.”