Turnovers spoil fast start against La Porte

A promising start for the Deer men's basketball team turned into a disappointing finish in a 76-46 loss against arch-rival La Porte Friday night at Watkins Gym.

"Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers, turnovers," said Louie Means, Deer head coach. "That's what doomed us. We had a great start. We were doing all the little things right, but when we started turning the ball over, that's when we ran into trouble."

Deer Park finished the night with 28 turnovers

The Deer had the hot hands early on. After trailing in the opening moments, Deer Park forced turnovers and finished possessions with buckets to keep the lead into the second quarter. However, when the Bulldogs took a 21-20 lead early in the second, they never looked back.

Collin Means led the Deer with 18 points while Omar Bakdounes and Omar Reyes had six points each.

"Our defense played well, but when we have as many turnovers as we did, that put us on our heels instead of us putting them on their heels," Means said. "We did a great job on all the things we wanted to do, especially in the first half, but when got into turnover trouble, that's when it all shifted against us. I don't feel we stopped or quit or anything."

Next up for the Deer is their final road game of the season at Channelview, Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

In junior varsity action, Deer Park defeated La Porte 66-65.

The Freshman Gold team almost doubled-up La Porte, winning 49-25. Blake Cervantes had 10 points while Noah Vasquez and John Garza had seven points each. The Freshman Maroon also scored a victory over the Bulldogs, 57-48. Hunter Fuller had 12 points while Garrett Durham and Logan Berryhill added eight points each.