As the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold.

The Fort Stockton boys basketball team was defeated by Greenwood on the Rangers home floor on Jan. 14 by the score of 73-45. The Panthers were able to avenge that loss at the Special Events Center on Feb. 1, scoring a season-high point total in a 71-61 victory over the Rangers (17-7). The victory marked their first district win of the season.

“We played phenomenal defense all night. We rebounded the basketball phenomenally well and we took care of the ball. We usually have 20-plus turnovers and we were around 12 tonight,” Panthers head coach Zack Roberson said. “I would definitely say this is our best performance of the season.”

Fort Stockton maintained a lead for a majority of Tuesday’s contest via a high-powered offense that had four players finish with double-digit point totals.
Devon Rodriguez led the team with 16 points and Caleb Garcia followed with 15 points. The duo netted three of the Panthers five 3-pointers in the contest.

Roberson noted that Rodriguez’s outing on Tuesday was likely his best all-around performance of the season.

“Devon probably played the best game he has all season. He shot the ball well and attacked,” he said.

The first-year coach of the Panthers basketball program added that he quickly realized that Garcia could be a special player coming into the season, it was just a matter of putting it all together.

“I told Caleb early in the season that there is no reason you shouldn’t be first-team all-district, or an even higher accolade if he wanted because he is so talented all around,” Roberson said.

Dominic Aguilar and Marco Garcia added 10 points apiece. Cruz Rojas led the team in rebounding, controlling the glass throughout the contest.

The trio also earned recognition from their head coach.

“Dom played phenomenal and even Marco coming of the bench. He provided a tremendous spark for us. Cruz played phenomenal, got to the free throw line and knocked them down.”

Roberson mentioned the revelation his team has had in the past few weeks after competing with a talented Monahans team last week and getting a hard-fought district win on Feb. 1.

Roberson noted the depth his squad gained when Marco Garcia, Zane Hodges, and Aryan Hernandez moved up from the junior varsity team.

The trio now provide valuable minutes off the bench.

“I talked with my coaching staff (earlier in the season) and I said I think we need a new spark. Not just a new spark but these young guys can play, and we were able to get them up to speed. They’ve played great. Zane can jump out the gym and go up strong and get those rebounds too. Aryan is really, really athletic,” he said. “They’ve come in and played big minutes.”

The head basketball coach credits his athletes for working hard every day and making progress behind the scenes despite numerous double-digit losses.

“I want to give credit to the guys. They come in every single day and practice their tale off. I want to credit them on the change and the effort that they play with,” Roberson said. “Tonight was really rewarding.”

Fort Stockton is now 1-5 in district play and 6-20 overall. Greenwood falls to 4-2 in district play with the loss and 17-10 overall.