NEDERLAND — Two straight defeats might have come against the seventh- and eighth-ranked 5A teams, but Nederland now has some makeup work to do as the rivalry game approaches.
The Bulldogs stumbled in the clutch at home with four turnovers in five crucial fourth-quarter possessions, and No. 7 Beaumont Central capitalized with a key run to take a 68-60 victory away from the Dog Dome on Friday. Nederland, which took a 60-55 defeat at No. 8 Beaumont Ozen on Tuesday, is now 16-8 overall and 1-2 in District 22-5A.
“I thought the kids played hard, but you just can’t turn the ball over continuously like that,” Nederland coach Brian English said.
Central’s backcourt turned up the pace of the game on Nederland and scored off untimely Bulldogs turnovers during runs in the second and fourth quarters. A 19-18 Bulldogs lead quickly turned into a 28-20 Jaguars edge with about 3 minutes left before halftime, but Nederland, which was down 31-25 at the break, steadily clawed back to lead 43-42 late in the third.
Jase Miguez powered Nederland in the second half. He had 17 of the team’s 35 points in the final 16 minutes and finished with 23 points. Kevin Howard added 15 points.
But Central’s T.J. Atwood and Nijal Pearson were too much down the stretch. Atwood, who along with Nederland graduate Colton Weisbrod have signed with Lamar for next season, scored all 18 of his points in the second half before fouling out with 2:28 to go. Pearson also had 18 points, hitting 5 of 6 free throws in the final 2:21.
“Everybody’s going to give us their best shot,” Jaguars coach Franklin Paul said. “But, it’s a hostile crowd here. Being on the road, that’s a good victory for us.”
A week after starting the district season with a blowout of Vidor, Nederland has to try and make up some ground in the standings starting Tuesday with a hop to next-door rival Port Neches-Groves, which is now 11-7 and 3-0 in 22-5A.
“We’ve lost eight games by eight points or less, and only one of those games was eight points,” English said. “We’re struggling trying to find ways to finish the game.”