Texas High's boys squad has won the Battle of Bowie County on the hardwood.
The Tigers (16-5) defeated Liberty-Eylau (14-6) at the Rader Dome Tuesday night, 69-51.
"We played Pleasant Grove the other night and we played these guys tonight," Texas High head coach Keith Jones. "I told our guys this is another rivalry game and we're going into district. I shouldn't have to get them up for this game.
"We came out a little sluggish in the first half. The refs let them play and we had to get used to it. We made corrections at halftime and played a better half."
THS held their largest lead of the night over L-E at the end of the third quarter, 51-34.
Kyle Wright continued to navigate the Tiger offense in the second half.
Wright finished the game with 24 points and three rebounds.
"Kyle got going a little bit in the second half," Jones said. "He was struggling a little but he got it going down the stretch."
There were only six fouls called in the first half.
"We just didn't play well," Liberty-Eylau head coach Stasik Vaughn said. "We have some things to correct the next few days in practice.
"We'll be fine. We just need to fix the little things like free throws and backside rebounding. We'll be fine."
Texas High managed a slight lead heading into the locker rooms over Liberty-Eylau, 28-23.
CJ Kelley finished with 17 points, 10 boards and three blocks for the Tigers.
"CJ is a heckuva player for us," Jones said. "He's 6'7 and can jump out of the gym. He controls the boards for us most nights. Kyle and CJ make us a whole lot better."
The Leopards reciprocated the defensive pressure and active hands the Tigers were dishing out.
R'Aikem Harris knocked down a pair of free throws for the Leopards that cut into the Tigers lead heading into intermission. Harris finished the game with two points.
Cole Drumm gave THS positive minutes in his reserve role. Drumm affected shots and also applied defensive pressure for the Tigers in the second quarter. Drumm finished the game with 12 points, three rebounds and two blocks.
Dominique Williams added 10 points and three rebounds for the Leopards, while teammate Isaiah Cross led the Leopards with 12 points.
THS edged L-E by one at the end of the first period, 11-10.
Wright proved to be a mismatch for THS on the block in the first quarter.
The Leopards took their first lead of the game when Williams drained his second 3-pointer of the quarter.
The Tigers started out on a blazing pace from the opening tip.
THS held a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter before Williams drained a trey to put the Leopards on the board.
THS won the junior varsity contest, 65-46.
Texas High 11 17 23 18 - 69
Liberty-Eylau 10 13 11 17 - 51
TEXAS HIGH (69): Wright 7 4-4 1 24, Phillips 2 0-0 1 6, Arnold 1 0-0 0 2, Robertson 1 0-0 1 2, Smith 1 0-0 1 2, Vaughn 2 0-0 0 4, Drumm 5 2-3 2 12, Kelley 7 3-5 2 17. TEAM TOTALS 26 9-12 9 69.
LIBERTY-EYLAU (51): Williams 3 2-4 1 10, Atkins 3 1-2 2 9, Meadows 2 0-1 0 4, Cross 4 1-2 2 12, Barron 3 0-0 0 6, Hunter 3 0-0 3 6, Cooper 1 0-0 0 2, Harris 0 2-4 1 2. TEAM TOTALS 19 6-13 9 51.
3-point goals: THS-Wright 6, Phillips 2. L-E-Williams 2, Atkins 2.