Americas, Clint fall in round three of the state basketball playoffs

Americas and Clint were the last two local teams still standing in the boys basketball state playoffs, but both suffered close defeats in round three Tuesday.

Americas fell 39-33 to Odessa Permian in 6A in a game played in Alpine while Clint lost 46-44 to Levelland High School in a 4A matchup in Monahans.

Neither team had suffered a defeat since December and both went undefeated in district play before winning a pair of games each in the postseason.

Permian has now defeated two teams from our area in the playoffs after a first-round victory over Socorro.

Though Americas was able to jump out to a 10-3 lead after the first quarter, Permian rallied in the second, using a 19-2 run to take the lead. The Panthers would lead 24-18 at the break before holding off the Trail Blazers in the second half to book their trip to the regional semifinals.

The Blazers end their season with a mark of 29-8. They had not lost a game since Dec. 14 when this same Permian team beat them, 44-34.

As for Clint, they actually defeated Levelland during the regular season, but fell a mere two points short in the rematch Tuesday.

The Lions were ranked all season long in the coaches poll and will finish the year with a 28-8 overall record.

ABC-7 would like to congratulate both teams on an outstanding 2018-19 campaign and wish both programs the best moving forward.