Yates' boys basketball team is ranked No. 1 in the state of Texas. But the way the Lions play week in and week out, you would swear they are still gunning to just get noticed. Well, that is just the way the guys play the game.

“I think this is the best team I have every had as far as staying focused and playing hard,” Yates coach Greg Wise said. “Like I tell them, we can’t afford to take a step back and we have to get better each game.”

And it is obvious the players listen. They showed major muscle Wednesday night with a decisive 113-52 victory over Reagan. The Lions came out hard and fast on defense trapping the entire first half.

Because of that, and multiple players in double figures, Yates had a 70-21 halftime lead. It was Yates’ Xavier Roberson and Brandon Peters leading the way.

In the second half, the Bulldogs came out fired up. Travis Lampley was running the floor and drawing fouls to put points on the board for Reagan. But half way through the third, The Lions’ outside shooting was second to none.

Yates guards Joseph Young and Darius Gardner knocked down nearly every 3-point shot they attempted. Of course according to Wise, this was an aspect of their game that has evolved of the course of the year.

“We try to get a good balance of inside and outside, but we have some good 3-point shooters who we weren’t looking for early in the year,” Wise said. “A lot of that is a process of us learning each other and me learning what I am looking for. We are really starting to mix it up.”

Even though winning has not seemed to problem for the Lions these days, that is not enough as Wise sees the bigger picture down the road.

“Our first thing is to go ahead and win district because as good as they have been (in recent years) they haven’t done that in a while,” Wise said. “Then we want to stay focused and get ready for the playoffs because once were in there, you are one and done. So we want to come out of districts and go into the playoffs full strength.”

Leading the way for Yates was Gardner with 22 points. Roberson and Peters both dropped 20 points while Young had 18.

Josh Cloud led the Bulldogs with 13 points. Kenneth Barrence scored 12 points and Lampley had 11.

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