Hastings’ boys basketball team anticipated having problems with Bellaire’s height and length Friday during the Houston vs. The Nation basketball tournament.

But the Bears’ ace in the hole – their balance – kept them confident and dealt the Cardinals a hand they couldn’t handle.

Chris Iles’ 19 points, David Linden’s 18 and 12 from Lionel Foster powered Hastings to a 66-51 victory Friday afternoon at the Aldine Campbell Center.

After leading just 13-10 at the end of the first quarter, Hastings outscored Bellaire 36-20 in the next two periods and led by as much as 20 in the fourth quarter.

“We don’t have any high-risers,” Hastings coach Darrell Collins said, referring to Bellaire center Tobi Oyedeji (6-foot-7) and 6-6 posts Joe Okafor and William Rose. “We have people who can move around the basket but they made it tough for us in the beginning.”

And so Linden, a 5-11 senior guard, thrived from the outside. He was 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range.

“It just opened things up for me,” Linden said. “We don’t have a lot of jumpers so we have to spread the ball. My teammates open things up for me.”

Hastings (16-4) secured a berth in Saturday afternoon’s Texas Championship against either Smiley or Kingwood.

The Bears were 20-of-46 from the floor and 18-of-24 from the foul line.

“Our kids are smart enough to know that if one person’s on, get the ball to them and they’ll hit,” Collins said. “That’s one of the things I love about this team. They don’t care who scores. They’ll get the ball to somebody else.”

De’Everett Williams added seven rebounds for Hastings.

Jonathan Evans scored 19 points and Nicholas Foreman 13 for Bellaire.

Kingwood 47, Seven Lakes 35

Jordan McGowen scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the first half to power Kingwood (14-5) past Seven Lakes (13-6).

As they did Thursday night when they scored 41 points against Minneapolis DeLaSalle, the Mustangs won with defense. Kingwood took a 16-12 lead in the first quarter, then outscored Seven Lakes just 5-3 in the second.

The Spartans got within 32-29 with seven minutes left but never were closer after that.

Jimmy Abraham led Seven Lakes with 15 points.

HCYA 67, St. Pius 55

John Caleb Sanders had 21 points and seven rebounds to lead HCYA (12-6) past St. Pius (10-4).

Jesse Sanders added 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who took a 34-24 halftime lead. Andrew Tucker added eight rebounds as HCYA outrebounded St. Pius 38-28.

Dwight Miller scored 13 points, Jamal Lackey 12 and Aaron Mike Davis 11 for St. Pius.

St. Thomas 81, Westfield 78, 2 OT

Jonathan Strom’s 26 points and six rebounds helped St. Thomas (13-5) outlast Westfield (8-6) in double overtime in Friday’s first game.

Stephen White had 16 points and Blake Jolivette and Antuan Bootle added 12 apiece for St. Thomas, which outscored Westfield 10-7 in the second overtime.

Mark Brooks had 22 points and Donte Baines 17 for Westfield.

Check back the rest of the day for complete coverage.

FRIDAY’S REMAINING GAMES
Cypress Springs vs. Montverde (Fla.) Academy, 3 p.m.

Klein Collins vs. Albany (N.Y.) Academy, 4:30 p.m.

Wheatley vs. Minneapolis DeLaSalle, 6 p.m.
Madison vs. St. Patrick, 7:30 p.m.
Yates vs. Oak Hill (Va.), 9 p.m.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
Aldine vs. Bellaire, 9 a.m.
Kingwood vs. Smiley, 10:30 a.m.
Cypress Springs vs. St. Thomas, noon
St. Pius vs. Minneapolis DeLaSalle, 1:30 p.m.
Texas Championship (Hastings vs. Smiley or Kingwood), 3 p.m.
Wheatley vs. Albany (N.Y.) Academy, 4:30 p.m.
Klein Collins vs. Montverde (Fla.) Academy, 6 p.m.
Yates vs. Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, 8 p.m. (ESPNU national telecast)
Madison vs. Oak Hill (Va.), 10 p.m. (ESPNU national telecast)

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