The Santa Maria Cougars basketball squad (Santa Maria, TX), was nudged 49-46 in Friday's non-league battle with the visiting Lyford Bulldogs (Lyford, TX)

With the victory, Lyford advances its record to 12-5 on the year. The Bulldogs host IDEA Riverview (Brownsville, TX) to meet the Rockets in a 3A Region IV District 32 challenge on Tuesday, December 16. The Rockets come into the challenge with a record of 5-6. IDEA Riverview won 63-26 in their recent league challenge against IDEA Weslaco Pike (Weslaco, TX)

In their next game, the Cougars battle the Rio Hondo Bobcats (Rio Hondo, TX) in a non-league challenge, on Friday, December 12. Santa Maria will attempt to better on its 3-5 season record. The Bobcats come into the challenge with a 2-6 record after their 58-43 non-league loss to Harlingen (Harlingen, TX).