By Aro Majumder
For the Austin Sports Journal
BUDA – Leander’s Luke Lavin turned away after draining a late free throw to see teammate Ryder Bradley tapping his left wrist with his right hand, a tribute to Damian Lillard, an NBA star known for his game-winning shots.
Lavin mirrored the gesture before going back to the line to drain a second free throw and seal
a 66-62 win over New Braunfels on Tuesday in a Class 5A Division I boys basketball bi-district playoff at Buda Johnson High School. It was the Lions first playoff win since 2020.
At one point in the third quarter, Leander (25-8) trailed the Unicorns (23-13) by 17 points. Then, a slew of New Braunfels turnovers, 15 fourth-quarter points from Ryder and a clutch three-pointer with 20 seconds left in regulation from Gage Faglie forced overtime.
“[Ryder] doesn’t get rattled,” said Leander head coach Clint Bradley. “He leads this team, and we had other guys make plays late, so I’m really proud of this team.”
Ryder Bradley, a St. Edwards signee scored a game-high 36 points, while Lavin scored eight of the Lions’ 11 overtime points.
As the final buzzer sounded, it was those two also leading the Lions players’ charge to the traveling student section to celebrate with their class mates, which soon turned into a mini mosh pit that spilled into the middle of the court.
“It just means so much,” Ryder Bradley said. “And it means a lot to the school.”
Leander struggled to find offensive rhythm for much of the night against a New Braunfels defense that mixed in trapping and full-court pressure to force turnovers.
The Unicorns also denied Ryder Bradley the ball at every opportunity while pouring in a barrage of 3-pointers at the other end, including five in the first half from Chris Hernandez to build the 17-point lead.
But the Lions’ full-court pressure forced turnovers of their and allowed Ryder Bradley to take control of the offense and spark a comeback. Leander outscored New Braunfels 30-13 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“We’ve got some hard-nosed kids who play for each other,” Clint Bradley said. “We battled through it. We were fortunate, we turned them over a few times, started building some confidence. We made plays.”
The Lions advance to the area round where they will face San Antonio Southwest ((21-14). You can find playoff scores, parings and game times for all Austin-area teams here.
Main image is courtesy of Lisa Miller.
