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Mustangs stay on top with strong defense
  
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By STEPHEN WHITFIELD
One glance at the boxscore from Kingwood’s 46-36 win over Aldine Friday night and it might look like the Mustangs had an easy night.
After all, Aldine scored just five points in the second quarter and four points in the third. After falling behind big in the first half, the Mustangs didn’t close the deficit to single digits until midway through the fourth quarter.
But last Friday night was far from easy for Kingwood. Aside from a 13-1 scoring outburst in the second quarter, the two Mustangs squads played each other to a draw. Despite allowing four points in the third quarter, Kingwood only scored three. And the Mustangs had to withstand a couple of late runs to keep Aldine at bay.
For a team that has dominated as much as Kingwood has over the past two weeks, the game was surprising.
“Sometimes when you’re successful, you take things for granted,” Mustangs head coach Royce Huseman said. “You don’t do the same things that got you there. We let our guard down a little bit.”
Aldine stayed in the game by playing an extreme slow-down offense. Oftentimes the Mustangs would hold the ball for long stretches before taking a shot. Aldine’s final possession of the first quarter lasted 1:02.
Huseman said he found Aldine’s offense frustrating and that he wanted to push the tempo.
“We’d go down and score real quick only to play defense for about a minute,” Huseman said. “That’s not a fun game to play when you’re playing defense three to four times longer than the other team. If teams are willing to slow the game down that much, a lot of times there’s not a whole lot you can do about that.”
Kingwood adjusted by going to a light half-court trap in the second quarter. The added pressure forced Aldine into several second-half turnovers, which in turn allowed Kingwood to score in transition.
Also, Kingwood’s interior post players controlled the boards, limiting Aldine to one shot per possession in most cases.
“We had some kids who did a really good job rebounding,” Huseman said. “We’ve been a pretty good rebounding team all year long. We don’t have that big kid that’s a big-time rebounder, but as a team we do a really good job boxing out and keeping the other team off the glass.”
This week, Kingwood has a chance to distance itself from the rest of the competition in District 19-5A. Last night, the Mustangs hosted Humble in a rivalry game. Friday, Kingwood goes to Atascocita to take on an Eagles team that won its first three district games and added a win at Galena Park North Shore on top of that.
“We’ve got a chance to really control our destiny by taking care of business this week,” Huseman said. “If we do a good job this next week, we’ll put ourselves in a situation where we can afford a loss here or there later on.”
Despite the tough competition ahead, Kingwood still remains the team to beat in its district. Huseman said his team will be successful as long as they continue to play solid defense.
“We’re the type of team that’s pretty sound,” Huseman said. “We’re not going to change a bunch of what we do. As far as a new team coming up, we’re going to do the same things. We’re going to be a good defensive team.”
After all, Aldine scored just five points in the second quarter and four points in the third. After falling behind big in the first half, the Mustangs didn’t close the deficit to single digits until midway through the fourth quarter.
But last Friday night was far from easy for Kingwood. Aside from a 13-1 scoring outburst in the second quarter, the two Mustangs squads played each other to a draw. Despite allowing four points in the third quarter, Kingwood only scored three. And the Mustangs had to withstand a couple of late runs to keep Aldine at bay.
For a team that has dominated as much as Kingwood has over the past two weeks, the game was surprising.
“Sometimes when you’re successful, you take things for granted,” Mustangs head coach Royce Huseman said. “You don’t do the same things that got you there. We let our guard down a little bit.”
Aldine stayed in the game by playing an extreme slow-down offense. Oftentimes the Mustangs would hold the ball for long stretches before taking a shot. Aldine’s final possession of the first quarter lasted 1:02.
Huseman said he found Aldine’s offense frustrating and that he wanted to push the tempo.
“We’d go down and score real quick only to play defense for about a minute,” Huseman said. “That’s not a fun game to play when you’re playing defense three to four times longer than the other team. If teams are willing to slow the game down that much, a lot of times there’s not a whole lot you can do about that.”
Kingwood adjusted by going to a light half-court trap in the second quarter. The added pressure forced Aldine into several second-half turnovers, which in turn allowed Kingwood to score in transition.
Also, Kingwood’s interior post players controlled the boards, limiting Aldine to one shot per possession in most cases.
“We had some kids who did a really good job rebounding,” Huseman said. “We’ve been a pretty good rebounding team all year long. We don’t have that big kid that’s a big-time rebounder, but as a team we do a really good job boxing out and keeping the other team off the glass.”
This week, Kingwood has a chance to distance itself from the rest of the competition in District 19-5A. Last night, the Mustangs hosted Humble in a rivalry game. Friday, Kingwood goes to Atascocita to take on an Eagles team that won its first three district games and added a win at Galena Park North Shore on top of that.
“We’ve got a chance to really control our destiny by taking care of business this week,” Huseman said. “If we do a good job this next week, we’ll put ourselves in a situation where we can afford a loss here or there later on.”
Despite the tough competition ahead, Kingwood still remains the team to beat in its district. Huseman said his team will be successful as long as they continue to play solid defense.
“We’re the type of team that’s pretty sound,” Huseman said. “We’re not going to change a bunch of what we do. As far as a new team coming up, we’re going to do the same things. We’re going to be a good defensive team.”
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