In a game full of fouls and fan outbursts, it was the Katy (9-21, 3-10) boys basketball team that defeated visiting Elsik (14-20, 4-9) 43-39 in a District 18-5A matchup Friday night.

Katy assistant coaches Stephen Cobb, Trey Barton, John Lowe and Chuck Arnold collaborated as coaches to lead the Tigers to victory in the absence of coach Pat Okruhlik.

“There was a lot of adversity we had to go through this week and we did a good job of pulling together as a team,” Cobb said. “The players really stepped up and it was never a negative moment. It was a real tough game and a real tough battle and there was never a chance to breathe, but they pulled it together.”

And when the Tigers faced their adversaries on the court, they answered the bell. The game stayed fairly close throughout its entirety, but the Rams seemed to always have a slight advantage.

Elsik went into halftime with a 25-22 lead, which was powered by Darriuos Curry’s hot hand from the perimeter. But the Tigers came out quick in the third to quickly even the score at 31.

Being faced with Elsik’s full-court press, the Tigers were able to get a few transition buckets. In the end, Katy outscored Elsik 12-8 to earn its fourth district win.

Brian Rowe led the way for the Tigers with 12 points and Stephen Blanchard dropped in eight.

For the Rams, Curry has 12 points and Kevin Brown contributed eight.

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