Published: December 30, 2008 11:09 pm      

Bulldogs inch closer to winning tournament

New Waverly boys down Anahuac 70-55 to advance to today’s championship game

New Waverly boys basketball coach Bill Goffney said that he finally saw what he was looking for from his Bulldog bunch Tuesday afternoon at the Lufkin tournament.

The Bulldogs (11-3) came out focused and cruised to a 70-55 victory over Anahuac to advance to today’s championship game against Lufkin Hudson at 5:50 p.m.

“In my opinion, this was the best game we have played all season,” Goffney said. “We came out with a lot of energy and intensity. We ran the floor well and finished. We looked like a good team today.”

Junior X’Zavious Harrison led three New Waverly players in double digits in scoring with 19 points. Senior Joseph Carrington chipped in 16 points and junior Kyren Watts finished with 15.

Junior Tyren Watts added eight points, while senior Sir. Horace Saulsberry scored six.

Goffney said he was pleased with the Bulldogs’ defensive effort in the win over Anahuac. New Waverly only allowed eight points in the second quarter to pull away.

“The lights are starting to come on, and the guys are remembering the things that worked for us last season,” the coach said. “I was really pleased with our half-court defense. We got some stops when we needed to. They scored 15 points in the first quarter then we held them to only eight in the second.

“We led by as many as 30, but they scored the majority of their points in the fourth quarter when we were getting some of the young guys some minutes. We need some of the young guys to get some experience because we don’t have the depth we did last year.”