Houston defeats Ridgeway, 65-50, for 2-0 start in district play

<p>Houston’s <strong>T.J. Madlock</strong> hadn’t practice at all for Tuesday night’s home game against Ridgeway. <strong>Mason Miller</strong> just got back for the Mustangs after missing some time dealing with an injury.</p> <p>But, sophomore forward Zander Yates was ready to take on the scoring load for the Mustangs.</p> <p>Yates finished with a game-high 24 points as Houston (13-5, 2-0 District 15 3-A) protected home court with the 65-50 win over the Roadrunners Tuesday night. Yates got going early for the Mustangs, converting on a 3-point play before knocking down his team’s fourth 3-pointer of the game in the first quarter.</p> <p>Houston quickly jumped out to a 17-4 lead over Ridgeway. The Roadrunners found an offensive spark in the second quarter from shooting guard Kendall Thomas, who scored eight points to bring his team within eight (28-20) at halftime, but Ridgeway didn’t seem to have an answer for Yates, who used his 6-foot-7 frame to score inside and out.</p> <p>Yates scored five straight points to start the third quarter, then knocked down a 3 to give the Mustangs their largest lead of the night at 41-23. The Roadrunners had gotten their deficit down to 46-36 after an 8-0 run, but back-to-back 3s from Yates and Nick Tarrance pushed Houston’s lead up to 52-38.</p> <p>The Cougars put an exclamation point on their lead with Madlock’s alley-oop pass to Faizon Fields in transition. After that, Yates knocked down one more 3, then Tarrance got an uncontested one-handed dunk in transition.</p> <p>Mason Miller, the son of University of Memphis Men’s assistant basketball coach Mike Miller, scored nine points in his first game with Houston this season. Mason first set of points came off a 3 from the left corner, right in front of Ridgeway’s bench. After he went 1 of 2 from the free throw line, Mason found Yates cutting to the basket for the easy score.</p> <p>Mason, who’s 6-7, had been out with a lower back injury, but didn't seem to look rusty in his debut for the Mustangs.</p> <p>“His energy was really good, but just like anything else, his conditioning is a long way from where it needs to be,” Houston head coach Charlie Leonard said about Mason, who’s a left-handed jump shooter. “It’s a nice start.”</p> <p>Tarrance and Alex Marshall each finished with eight points apiece. Fields and Madlock finished with seven. The Mustangs made 11 3s, with five of them coming from Yates.</p> <p>Thomas led the Roadrunners (8-7, 1-1) with 15 points. Travis Dockery and Willie Wilson each had nine.</p> <p><strong>3 takeaways</strong></p> <ul> <li>Because of Yates, Mason and Fields’ length inside, Willie Wilson had a hard time getting good looks at the basket. Houston’s length will pose problems for opponents the rest of the way. The Mustangs have two guys at 6-7 (Mason and Yates) and one at 6-8 (Fields).</li> <li>Yates and Mason can shoot from 3. That’s a plus for the Mustangs, because it gives the team multiple offensive weapons to go alongside Madlock.</li> <li>Hopefully, Kendall Thomas is the answer offensively for Ridgeway after Tuesday night’s performance. He can shoot from 3, which would help the Roadrunners, who have mainly relied on Wilson all season to carry the scoring load.</li> </ul>