There's no place like home for the O'Connor Panthers, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Tuesday. They walked away with a 56-46 win over Holmes on Friday. Given O'Connor's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 141st, while Holmes is ranked 462nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Julian Barron was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 21 points and 12 rebounds. He has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last three times he's played. Jackson Schulze was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with six rebounds.
Despite the loss, Holmes saw an underclassman step up: Amare Guerra scored 22 points along with three steals. Guerra has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 11 times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Isaiah Hernandez, who scored seven points along with two steals.
O'Connor's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 16-10. As for Holmes, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-15 record this season.
O'Connor will look to defend their home court on Wednesday against Jay at 6:00 p.m. Jay knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past 14 games -- so hopefully O'Connor likes a good challenge. As for Holmes, they will head out on the road to square off against Warren at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
