The first several minutes of Tuesday night's 5A-Region III quarterfinal set the tone for Chavez in more ways than one.

The Lobos bolted to a seven-point lead within two minutes on four transition baskets, two of them off steals. And by the six-minute mark, only one foul had been called.

It was a perfect formula for Chavez, which ended Lamar's surprising tournament run with a 53-42 win at Butler Fieldhouse.

"When we do our own thing, we play more as a team," said Lobos guard Jamal Fenton, the game-high scorer with 14 points. "We were able to do whatever it took to win the game."

The Lobos (28-5) built a 14-point lead by halftime, increased that to 19 a few minutes into the third quarter and held off a spirited Redskins (22-11) comeback to advance into a regional semifinal Friday night against Fort Bend Dulles.

It was Chavez's third win against its District 20-5A foe this season.

"(Tuesday) went a little better than the other two games," Lobos coach Kevin Pullum said. "We followed the plan and it worked well, but Lamar proved to be the tough opponent we expected them to be. After halftime they came out and threw us off a little bit because they made some adjustments, so we had to be a little more patient and let the clock run down."

Jarvis Smith added 10 points for Chavez, whose effective box-and-one defense on Lamar standout Josh Bonney kept the Redskins out of their rhythm most of the game. Bonney scored 13 points, the only Redskin in double-figures.

Fenton welcomed the anticipated one-on-one matchup against Bonney, whose back-to-back 40-point games two weeks ago propelled Lamar, the No. 4 team in 20-5A, into the tournament.

Pullum said his goal was to limit Bonney to 15 points or fewer.

"I'm a competitor," Fenton said. "If I can get the one-on-one matchup and go at him, I'm gonna go at him. I'm not afraid of anybody."

Jamal Johnson made a layup and Smith dunked to power Chavez to a 38-19 lead two minutes into the second half. But Lamar closed within 44-33 by the end of the third, and a Josh Leuchtag basket after three offensive rebounds put the Redskins within 48-40 with 3:50 to play.

Fenton answered with a 15-foot jumper to make it 50-40, and Lamar hit only one field goal the rest of the way.

"They didn't want to give up," Pullum said. "They had a great run; they were the Cinderella team and they wanted to continue. They saw their chances slipping away and they played tough, but we credit our team ... (for) some gifted play."

Leuchtag and Greg Anthony each scored eight points for Lamar.

Dulles upset Fort Bend Elkins 62-56 Tuesday night. Friday's game will be at 6 or 8 p.m. at the Campbell Center.

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