The Wylie boys basketball team completed a perfect run through the first half of District 5-4A play with Friday's 80-45 win against Big Spring at Bulldog Gym.
The Bulldogs (24-3 overall, 4-0 District 5-4A) pulled away late in the first quarter and carried that into a dominating first half to ease to the victory.
Photo Gallery: Wylie girls and boys basketball against Big Spring
"Obviously, that was the difference in the game," Wylie coach Gregg Ruffin said. "We got them in foul trouble. We did a good job of getting the ball inside, pump-faking and getting their bigs in foul trouble. That allowed us to do some stuff inside. I thought our intensity picked up, I thought our defense picked up. Of course, when you get on runs that's going to happen. But I was proud of the way we closed out the half."
For the second game in a row, Wylie was without Dylan Isenhower, Anthony Corrales and Bobby Cano as others stepped up. On Friday, that came in the form of Kyle Roberts who finished with a game-high 23 points while Payton Brooks added 16 points with four 3-pointers made. Steven Lopez also reached double figures with 12 points.
"That's what a team's about, or at least a good team's about," Ruffin said. "That's what we've been preaching to them and it's good for them to see that. For Kyle to have a really big third quarter, he shot free throws well. Payton came in and took over on the perimeter. When we have Dylan, we can do inside and outside. We had that (Friday) from Kyle inside and Payton on the outside. We were able to step up and get that done."
Even with the 4-0 start to district play, the Bulldogs still have work to do. But with big wins in each of the first four games, they have set themselves up for success.
"That's what we told them (after the game), 'We're exactly where we wanted to be when we started this,'" Ruffin said. "We finished the first half and we're sitting undefeated. That doesn't mean anything now as we move forward, but we've put ourselves in a good position to try claim another district championship, but we still have to take these games one at a time from here on out and continue to get better."
The second round of district games begin on Tuesday night as Wylie travels to Snyder.
DISTRICT 5-4A
WYLIE 80, BIG SPRING 45
Big Spring 11 2 18 14— 45
Wylie 23 19 23 15— 80
BIG SPRING (4-22, 0-4) — Dimas Garcia 1 0-0 3, Zephaniah Nelson 2 4-4 6, Seymore 2 0-0 5, Mikal Banks 0 2-2 2, John Ibanez 3 0-0 7, Jeremiah Cooley 8 2-4 18, Abel Clark 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 8-10 45.
WYLIE (24-3, 4-0) — Austin Brewer 1 2-3 4, Steven Lopez 4 3-4 12, Sam King 2 0-1 5, Shayden Payne 2 0-0 4, Duncan Bacon 2 0-0 5, Payton Brooks 6 0-0 16, Sterling Friedrich 1 0-1 2, Stran Blair 1 1-2 3, Parker Sanford 2 0-0 6, Kyle Roberts 9 5-7 23. Totals 30 11-17 80.
3-Point Goals — Big Spring 3 (Garcia 1, Seymore 1, Ibanez 1); Wylie 9 (Lopez 1, King 1, Bacon 1, Brooks 4, Sanford 2). Fouled Out — None. Technical Fouls — None. Total Fouls — Big Spring 18, Wylie 11.