The Lingleville Cardinals ended their stellar season with a 56-51 loss to Graford at Glen Rose in the March 2 Regional Semifinal playoff game.
The Cards trailed by only one point (23-24) at the half and by the end of the fiercely fought second-half, both teams stood at 45, kicking the battle into overtime.
Lingleville put six more points on the board, but Graford grabbed another 11.
“I’m really proud of my guys!” said Lingleville Head Basketball Coach Steven Bailey. “We went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the state. When the other team shoots 23 free throws to our two [free throws in the second half, it’s really difficult to win [but] we still took it to overtime.”
This game ended a 19-7 season in which the Cardinals were undefeated in district play for the first time in more than 30 years. They also ended the season being ranked 21st in state.
“I want to thank the seniors for their leadership and hard work,” said Bailey. “They really have left us in a great position to compete at the highest level.”
“We have a great group of guys returning next year, and we look forward to getting to work,” he added. “We want to win the big games.”
All-District honors were also announced in the past week with the following Cards named:
District MVP- Alex Carrizales (sophomore)
Defensive MVP- Brock Gage (senior)
1st Team All District
Kyler Phillips (junior)
Connor Hilburn (junior)
2nd Team All District
Augustus Boeve (senior)
Casten Murphy (senior)
All District Honorable Mention
Cade Lingle (junior)
Caden Howard (junior)
Izrael Juarez (sophomore)
Joseph Briseno (sophomore)