Reviews with Rob | South Houston vs Deer Park

A backyard brawl, a 12-round heavyweight fight, that’s what I was expecting coming into this district game. District 22 6A Region III saw the South Houston Trojans 17-5 (3-0) take on the Deer Park Deer 19-6 (4-0) in a battle for first place. The first quarter started off “bombs away” for South Houston as they attempted and made multiple three-point shots. Leading the charge for this would be unsigned senior G Joseph Buckner who would go 3-4 from the three-point line. Deer Park couldn’t get the ball in the bucket when they needed to; this led to them being down 16-6 after one. The second quarter saw the Trojans look more to the inside as the tempo slowed dramatically. ℅ 2024 P Josiah Ware gave Coach Watson some great minutes down low, offensively and defensively, ending the first half with 4 blocks. ℅ 2024 P Joshua Anderson carried the scoring and rebounding load for Deer Park with 6 points and 6 rebounds in the first half. South Houston would take a 25-14 lead into the second half.

Coach Bright must have had an inspiring halftime speech because his team came out with renewed energy. They slowed the tempo down and made the Trojans play half-court basketball. Joshua Anderson would again be a bright spot for them, scoring 7 points and having 3 steals. Unsigned senior G Malachi Martinez-Miller would also be a help scoring 12 points in the second half. After not scoring for the first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, and on the wrong side of a 13-0 run, ℅ 2025 G Kamron Webb hit two BIG threes and the inside pair of Josiah Ware and unsigned senior Mi’Jai Mickles hit some big free throws and secured various necessary defensive rebounds to close out a gritty and tough win, 51-41. With that win, South Houston obtains sole possession of first place in the second half of district play.

Deer Park was led by: Joshua Anderson with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals; Malachi Martinez-Miller with 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals

South Houston was led by: Joseph Buckner with 14 points (4-6 from the three-point line), and 3 rebounds; Josiah Ware with 13 points (5-5 from the field), 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks