Highlands surprises East Central in opener

TEAMS INCLUDED: Burbank, Central Catholic, Fox Tech, Harlandale, Highlands, Kennedy, Lanier, McCollum, Memorial, South San.

Host Alamo Heights defeated Central Catholic 73-60 Wednesday, handing the Buttons a loss in Bruce McConaghy’s first game as the school’s coach.

Central Catholic established a 32-29 halftime lead, but went cold in the third quarter. The Mules outscored the Buttons 22-9 in the third period and 44-28 in the second half.

Senior point guard Paul Escobar led the Buttons with 28-points. He was the only Central Catholic player to score more than six points.

The Mules were led by 23 points from Jim Lammers and 14 points from Bruce Lammers, who signed with Georgia Tech University.

Highlands 83, East Central 71

When the Owls face former district rival East Central, it’s always an exciting game and Tuesday’s matchup was no exception. The exceptional part was Highlands’ performance, vanquishing a talented Hornets’ squad at Highlands in the season opener for both teams.

East Central led after each of the first two quarters and had a 31-26 advantage at halftime behind what turned out to be a 39-point game from senior guard Brandon McClure. The Hornets added a point to their lead by the end of the third quarter, but Highlands was about to erupt. The Owls snared the win by outscoring East Central 32-16 in the fourth quarter.

The Owls were led by sophomore DeMarcus Hartfield with 21 points. Junior Joseph Jackson contributed 12 points. Xavier Long added nine points and junior Jermichael Shirley scored eight.

East Central sophomore Ethan White finished with nine points. Third-year starter Ceddrick Ali did not score for the Hornets.

McCollum 57, South San 49

The Cowboys outscored host South San 20-8 in the first quarter Tuesday and also had a double-digit scoring advantage in the final period. The middle quarters belonged to the Bobcats, but the Class 5A team wasn’t able to defeat its Class 4A opponent in the season opener.

Junior Cosmo Cantu, a third-year varsity player, led McCollum with 19 points. Nathan Martinez and Alex Loera posted 11 points apiece. Senior Eric Alcozer led South San with 18 points. David Valdez contributed 13.

Lanier 70, Kennedy 37

The Voks began their final season under coach Rudy Bernal with a decisive victory Tuesday at Lanier’s Alumni Center. Lanier held the Rockets to 14 first-half points in their season debut.

Seniors Ajax Reyes (23 points) and Louis Garza (20) were the Voks’ scoring leaders. Chris Salazar returned from an injury to generate 10 points. Israel Serna chipped in with eight in his varsity debut.

Kennedy received 10 points from Austin Pena. Erick Moncada added seven.

Memorial 66, Fox Tech 40

Xavier Abrigo led the Minutemen with 14 points and Joseph Aguillen scored nine as Memorial won the season opener for both teams Tuesday at Fox Tech. Memorial led 40-22 at halftime.

The Buffaloes received nine points from Ruben Hernandez and eight points from Ruben Chapa.

Harlandale 63, Burbank 43

The Indians stormed to a 22-11 lead in the first quarter of the season opener for both teams Tuesday at Harlandale. They stayed in control thanks to four double-figure scorers.

Jesus Maltos led Harlandale with 18 points in his first varsity game. Senior Armando Guerrero netted 12 points. George Rodriguez and Jose Salinas each scored 11. Post Ram Torres added eight points.

For Burbank, Michael Mascorro had a team-high nine points. Moses Betancourt and Juan Castillo each scored seven points.