Three games into his first season as head basketball coach at Brownwood, the Lions collected their initial victory of the Jorden Young coaching era and 2025-26 campaign, 62-57 over Dublin Tuesday night at Warren Gym.
The Lions (1-2) jumped out to a 27-9 lead early in the second period only for Dublin (0-2) to claw its way back and open a three-point advantage in the fourth quarter, but Brownwood was able to right the ship in the closing minutes.
“It was definitely sloppy at times, but the style of ball we both play is very up tempo, it’s moving around and a lot of things going on, but it’s good we were able to grind out a win in the end,” Young said. “There was a lot of learning for us tonight in late game situations.”
Cannon Calvert scored a game-high 19 points to fuel Brownwood’s effort followed by 15 points from Juston Burt, 10 from Jordan Gilbert, nine from Elias Perez, four from Bennett Windham, three from Santiago Alvizo, and two points from Hayden Brumbelow.
The Lions committed 20 turnovers but sank 11 of 16 free throws, while Dublin gave away the ball 25 times and hit just 10 of 25 free throws, including a mere 2 of 9 in the decisive fourth period.
Hunter Jones poured in 19 points for Dublin before fouling out with 3:08 left, right after Brownwood reclaimed the lead for good, 56-55. Jayden Deleon chipped in 13 points and Aiden Jeffery added 10, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Asked what he felt the difference in the two teams was Tuesday night, Young said, “Being dialed in and locked in to what we’re doing helped us win the game. We might had a have a couple more experienced players, but Dublin was a good team and fought hard all the way to the end. Jones fouling out really hurt them.”
Trailing by as many as 18 points, Dublin stormed back to grab a 47-45 lead on a three-pointer by Jones with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter, capping a 19-2 run by the visitors.
“We fell in love with the three ball and it wasn’t falling for us tonight, but we just continued to shoot it,” Young said of the Dublin rally. “We hit some late that helped us out, but understanding the three-ball isn’t working, we have to get it inside and get in the lane and attack.”
Down 51-48, a three-pointer by Burt allowed Brownwood to pull even again at 51 with 5:38 remaining. Dublin led 55-53 with 3:46 left until Calvert knotted the score, then he added a free throw 38 seconds later to push Brownwood back in front, 56-55. A bucket and free throw from Perez with just under 2 ½ minutes left extended Brownwood’s cushion to 59-55.
“I mentioned before that Elias has really improved defensively,” Young said. “He came up with big steals, he came up with a big shot in the corner and he hit his free throws at the end. He’s coming along, he still has room to grow, but he’s always learning and growing.”
Leading 11-9 after one quarter, Brownwood went on a 16-0 run over the first 2:08 of the second period to seize control, 27-9.
“We were playing what I would call Brownwood basketball where we’re pressuring the ball, creating steals and getting easy layups,” Young said of the Lions’ surge. “I talk about a layup being the best shot we can get, so why are we jacking so many threes. In that stretch we got a couple of steals, open looks and layups and the score resulted.”
The Lions are off until Thanksgiving week, as they visit Comanche Monday with a trip to Llano to follow Tuesday.
As for the goals for next week, Young said, “We’re still learning. A lot of these guys never played varsity games. Every game I’m hoping they get better, a little more experienced, a little more understanding of what we want as a program, and continue to have fun.”
