After the best start in school history, defeating several quality teams in the city and winning a tournament championship, Pebble Hills struggled on the road against the Burges Mustangs.

The Mustangs welcomed the Spartans and took it to them from the start. Teams don’t usually want to run with the Spartans, but the Mustangs did. Easy buckets from being able to transition from defense to offense was the difference as they developed an early 11-2 lead, which would force Pebble Hills head coach, Arturo Escobar, to call a timeout.

According to Kevin Averette, the Mustangs were able to create fast breaks and it started from collecting the boards.

“We weren’t disciplined enough to get back in time for transition,” Averette said. “They got easy buckets off of that.”

Tristen and Jawaun Newton combined for 63 points out of the team’s 89 points. The Newton brothers displayed their athleticism, but showed how important chemistry is when Jawaun moved without the ball toward the backside of the perimeter, and Tristen would dribble the ball toward the opposite end of the sideline; forcing the defenses’ attention, and allowing an opening for Jawaun to fill in a lane for an easy bucket via assist from Tristen.

The Spartans struggled to put together an offense as they showed little movement offensively; settling for isolation plays and shooting after the first pass. They were impatient offensively.

Despite playing better in the second half, Pebble Hills became frustrated with what little the were able to do. Trying to trim the lead piece-by-piece was not happening.

The Spartans have been able to dominate previous teams based off of their speed, but Brown says the Mustangs were able to out rebound them and extend their offensive drives.

“They got too many chances on their offensive rebounds,” Brown said. “That’s what killed us. They knew how to play us.”

Learning from their mistakes and progressing as a team is the plan.

“We need to stay grounded,” Averette said. “Going into the Dallas tournament next weekend, there’s going to be a bunch of Newton brothers. We just have to work on our weaknesses.”

Without question, Pebble Hills is one of the better teams in the city. Not being stagnant offensively and moving without the ball will help them become a more efficient team.

According to players, getting back faster and picking up their defensive assignment will make a difference. The Spartans travel  Tuesday to Austin High School and take on the Panthers.

Liz Alvarado/ Teal Tribune