Peaster beats Brock to stay perfect in District 8-3A, clinch playoff berth

The Peaster Greyhounds fended off a late rally and scored the final six points of the night to earn a gritty 50-44 road win over the Brock Eagles to clinch a playoff berth and the District 8-3A title

BROCK, Texas — Tramar Gilbert couldn't miss early on.

Peaster's 6-foot-3 senior small forward caught fire during the first half of the Greyhounds' pivotal District 8-3A matchup against Parker County rival Brock on Saturday.

Gilbert caused fits in the paint for Brock and scored a team-high 15 points for Peaster. 

However when the Eagles clamped down on Peaster's standout small forward, Gilbert the Greyhounds adjusted to the defensive pressure, spreading the ball to shooters around the the perimeter and locking down the paint defensively.

Led by Gilbert's strong start and their lineup's versatility, the Greyhounds held off a late rally to beat Brock in a 50-44 win Saturday to stay perfect in district play.

The victory extends Peaster's nine-game winning streak, as well as clinches a playoff berth and the District 8-3A title for the Greyhounds with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

“Tramar (Gilbert) is obviously a special player,” Peaster head coach Stan Short said. 

“The biggest part of our game plan was to get him the ball and find him some space so he can just go to work. They didn’t really have much of an answer for him…”

Jack Hotopp came in clutch from beyond the arch for Peaster, scoring 13 points including nine that came from behind the 3-point line.

The Greyhounds led 17-5  by the end of the first quarter and appeared to be in complete command of the game before Brock started to push back during the waning minutes of the first half.

Brock senior Brayden Carter-Ditto, a 6-foot-4 guard, scored three points during the second quarter and assisted on several additional baskets, helping spread the ball to the other shooters as the Eagles clawed their way back within 10.

But just as time in the first half was about to expire, Greyhounds forward Gunner McElroy deflect and redirected a missed shot, tipping in a second-chance shot just before the buzzer sounded to make it a 12-point game at the break.

“Definitely crucial, because they had cut that lead down to six,” Short said. “And then we got a couple of shots and to stretch it out to 12, you know when you’re playing these guys on the road in this kind of an atmosphere, they’re going to make a run at you.”

The Eagles kept trying to claw their way back into the game as the third quarter got underway spurred on by Austin Lavender, who led the way offensively with six points throughout the quarter. 

The Greyhounds' hot shooting, though, kept them ahead as Gilbert continued his big day adding eight more points during the third quarter for Peaster.

The Greyhounds, however, struggled to get to the rim once the fourth quarter began, which Brock its opportunity.

The Eagles came roaring back down the stretch run of the fourth. Lavender led Brock's late charge with nine points during the final 8 minutes of regulation, including a game tying 3-pointer with a little more than 2 minutes to go.

“We wanted to just weather the storm,” Short said. 

“We got real conservative against the half court trap. We were ahead, clock is running down, high school kids have a real hard time being aggressive against presses when you have a lead late…and so we really just wanted to weather the storm, attack the rim a little bit, see if we could get a couple of baskets, and just stay in there and just stick to the fight.”

Short rallied his troops after a quick timeout and got his team firing on all cylinders again. Peaster then returned to the court and scored the final six points of the game to walk away with a gritty road win.

Peaster (24-6, 10-0) will look to remain perfect in district play when the Greyhounds return to action against the Millsap Bulldogs (7-24, 0-9) at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, in Millsap.

Brock (19-7, 8-2) will look to bounce back and keep up in the District 8-3A playoff race when the Eagles face Millsap at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, in Brock.

Check out SBLive's exclusive photo gallery from the game:

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PHOTO GALLERY — PEASTER 50, BROCK 44

All photos by Brian McLean

Brian McLean, SBLive Sports