FORT STOCKTON – A tough, deep El Paso Chapin squad had the size, length and talent to run Plainview right out of the gym, but the Bulldogs never backed down.

Bulldogs fight but fall 79-67 in area round. By Nathan Giese, Plainview Herald. Updated 10:42 am CST. The Bulldogs fought until they couldn’t fight anymore, ultimately suffering a 79-67 loss. RIP 2007-2011 - Download our music for free at http://finalroundfight.bandcamp.com/.

Each time it looked like 19th-ranked Chapin was about to run away with a blowout Class 5A area title win, Plainview kept clawing back. The Bulldogs fought until they couldn’t fight anymore, ultimately suffering a 79-67 loss on Monday afternoon.

The four-hour road trip to Fort Stockton was well worth it for Plainview fans that made the trek south. Despite the completely lopsided records sported by both teams before the contest – El Paso Chapin at 18-1, Plainview at 12-15 – it would’ve been hard to dictate just how different those numbers were.

In fact, it was the Bulldogs that struck first blood on the Huskies. Adolfo Martinez continued his hot shooting late in the season and drained a 3-pointer from deep behind the line to give Plainview an early 5-0 advantage.

What Round Is The Fight In

The lead was 12-10 after another pair of triples from the one affectionately known as Dolf. Chapin finally got the message.

“We knew we had to take care of the ball on the perimeter, because they’re so aggressive and that’s what they thrive off of,” said Plainview head coach Drew Thompson. “You could just tell, it was kind of like blood in the water. They’d get a steal then, boom, full-court man and they’re just thriving off of that.”

Figuring out that Plainview wasn’t about to go down without a fight, Chapin started applying more defensive pressure, especially on the ballhanders. That led to a 10-2 Huskies run to end the first quarter that wound up being a 15-2 spurt that concluded early in the second.

Martinez sank his fourth 3 of the half to end the scoring drought that started an 8-0 run by Plainview. Much of the rest of the way was the Huskies stringing together a couple of baskets to extend the lead only for the Bulldogs to come right back.

“I thought we did a pretty good job, then they just started hitting us with the home-run passes and we hadn’t seen that in a while,” said Thompson.”

Chapin led by eight at the half, but the lead bounced between double-digits and a one-possession game multiple times. Longer, faster and deeper, the Huskies never had the final knockout punch until the last four minutes of the game.

Much of Plainview’s sticking around came from Austin Hauk finding his stroke from 3-point range. After Martinez’s four triples in the first half, the Huskies decided they had seen enough and started face-guarding Martinez, almost at half court. It didn’t work the whole time, but it was enough to force Plainview to look elsewhere.

What Round Is The Mcgregor Fight In Right Now

Hauk already had a tall task on his plate to start the game. He was pegged to guard Chapin’s KJ Lewis, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard that averages over 26 points per game and has scholarship offers from schools such as Houston, Texas A&M and many more.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Hauk took the defensive task and did an admirable job. Lewis was limited in playing time due to picking up three quick fouls in the first half and notching his fourth early in the third quarter.

On the other end of the floor, with Martinez being crowded, Hauk picked his spots and connected on four 3s of his own in the second half, finishing the game with five triples and a team-high 20 points.

What Round Is The Heavyweight Fight In

Plainview got the deficit to a manageable 62-57 with 5:06 left in the game. Unfortunately, another steal caused by the Chapin pressure defense led to a small-but-significant four-point swing that eventually turned the close game into a 16-point deficit in the closing minutes.

Fight

“They’re 19-1 and that’s their record for a reason,” Thompson said of Chapin. “They’re a really good basketball team. Probably the best in El Paso. I thought our kids fought them hard, played them hard the whole time. They didn’t back down from them.”

What Is The Round File

The loss concludes Plainview season at 12-16 after the Bulldogs made their first playoff appearance since 2017 and earned their first playoff win since 2016.

In addition to Hauk’s 20-point effort to conclude his high-school basketball career, fellow senior Martinez had 19 points. Junior Jayvian Lawson had nine points and senior Caleb Lusk eight. Hauk and Lawson each had four assists and Luks pulled in eight rebounds.

What Round Is The Canelo Fight In

“We knew we were good enough to get this far and we’re good enough to, you know, this game could’ve gone either way, late third quarter to the beginning of the fourth quarter,” said Thompson. “They just had some breaks that went their way. We know we’re good enough to play with them.”