Midlothian senior guard Omari Bobbitt gets to the basket Tuesday against Cleburne. (Fred Phipps/KBEC Sports)

No. 19 Midlothian boys improve to 2-0 in district play

Travis M. Smith January 9, 2020 Boys Basketball, Midlothian High School 1,853 Views

By Travis M. Smith | KBEC Sports

Five days after opening District 14-5A action with a nail-biter, the 19th-ranked Midlothian Panthers trounced visiting Cleburne on Tuesday.

Midlothian ultimately put the 83-38 victory away by outscoring the Yellowjackets 32-5 in the fourth quarter inside Panther Arena.

“I am very pleased with our 2-0 start,” Midlothian head boys’ basketball coach Steven Middleton told KBEC Sports. “We have a lot of work to do, but we won this one handily in the second half. We needed to play well and shoot the ball well and we did, so I am pleased with that.”

Omari Bobbitt, a 6-foot senior shooting guard, led the way for the Panthers with a game-high 17 points, while 6-foot-5 forward Nyk Madison scored 15 and Jackson Tollesfsbol scored 11.

“Nyk Madison is our leader and he has led us all year,” Middleton added. “I can’t imagine that not continuing. Omari Bobbitt had a good night and Jackson Tollesfon hit a few threes and our young freshman, Kelton Williams, continues to get better.”

Seven other Panthers scored during the win, which included Luke Reynolds (8), Kelton Williams (7), Paden Harris (6), Roderick Reeder (6), Trevor Wyckoff (5), Corbin Carpenter (5) and Taylor Tobey (3).

LAST TIME OUT

Midlothian needed all 15 points scored in the fourth quarter to complete a come-from-behind victory to open 14-5A action on Friday against Waco University.

The Panthers entered the halftime locker room trailing, 27-23. They then outscored the Trojans 28-22 over the final two quarters for the 53-49 win.

Madison led the team with 18 points, while Tollefsbol added 12 points and Williams had 11.

Bobbitt added seven to the cause and Reynolds scored five.

The two victories improved Midlothian to 15-7 overall and 2-0 in 14-5A play.

“Every game is a process,” Middleton said Tuesday. “It’s district basketball. We have to get better every night and get to a point where we are playing playoff basketball.”