BROOKESMITH – In a defensive battle that saw no team lead by more than six points until the fourth period, the District 17-A third seed Richland Springs Coyotes rallied past the District 18-A runner-up Blanket Tigers, 37-29, Tuesday night in Region III-A boys basketball bi-district playoff action.

With the win, Richland Springs (7-3) moves on to face District 19-A champion Lingleville in the area round. The game will be played Thursday at a time and place to be determined.

Trailing 23-21 with 3:36 left in the third period, the Coyotes reeled off the next eight points – five by Jadeyn Bryant and three from Landon Burkhart – to grab their largest lead of the contest, 29-23, with 6:31 remaining.

Blanket (11-5) fought back and closed the gap to 31-28 with 4:09 left, when Tyler Simpson scored following an offensive rebound. But the Tigers mustered just one free throw the rest of the way, while Bryant tallied six of the final seven points to lock up the win for Richland Springs.

“I thought our defense played well,” said Richland Springs head coach Shawn Rogers. “We’re not as good as we want to be on offense right now and that’s just because we haven’t played a lot of basketball, but we’re getting better. We may not have the greatest athletes, but we just scrap and we know how to win. That’s what we’ve been doing all year in football and basketball.”

Bryant led all scorers with 16 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, while Landon Burkhart chipped in 10, Zane Capps and Chase Gossett finished with four points each and Jayden Sutherland added three for the Coyotes.

Simpson poured in 15 points for the Tigers, but second-leading scorer Ryan Jenkins – who added seven – fouled out with 3:49 left and Blanket down 31-28. Brayden Day contributed five points and Hector Castaneda added a bucket.

Blanket led 11-5 with 2:33 left in the first quarter and 13-10 at the end of the frame, but fell behind 20-19 at halftime and 25-23 through three quarters. The Tigers were plagued by a 3 of 15 performance at the free throw line, including 1 of 10 in the first half, and 17 turnovers.

Richland Springs knocked down 8 of 14 free throws and coughed up the ball only eight times.

Tuesday’s game was originally slated to be played Monday night in Gorman, but had to be postponed due a scoreboard electrical failure.