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A few minutes after A&M Consolidated dismantled the Montgomery boys basketball team, somebody told coach Rusty Segler that his pressing, guard-rich Tigers looked quite a bit like their crosstown rivals.
"We played a little Bryan-ish tonight," Segler said. "I'll take that as a compliment. We've got the kind of team that can do that. It's going to be fun to watch, and it's going to be fun to coach."
The new-look Tigers were no fun for Montgomery, forcing the Bears into 37 turnovers on the way to an 85-51 rout at Tiger Gym to begin the season Tuesday night.
Segler went into the opener planning to use more pressing defense and more up-tempo offense because the Tigers are shorter, deeper and more guard-oriented than they have been in recent years. They had less height and were more reliant on guards against Montgomery because forwards Dominic Preston and Jarvon Searcy are still playing football and haven't joined the basketball team.
The plan worked wonderfully against the Bears, with Consol forcing at least eight turnovers in each quarter and scoring points in bunches as a result.
"It was very exciting, because that's fun to watch," Segler said. "Obviously we're not [hitting on all cylinders], but we played with fun, with the most aggressiveness I've seen at the beginning of a year. I hope that's a sign of things to come."
Along with a slightly new style, the Tigers unveiled an impressive sophomore in Kevin Jefferson. A recent addition to the basketball program after the end of the junior varsity football season, Jefferson scored 16 points in his varsity debut.
The 6-foot-2 swing man Jefferson came off the bench to make 7 of 9 shots, including a couple of dazzling baskets. He could have scored more, but missed part of the second half because of leg cramps.
"That was a pretty good debut for him," Segler said. "He's got to get his wood legs under him because he's been playing football, but he has a pretty neat future."
Consol went on a 14-4 run at the end of the first quarter to grab a double-digit lead that was never really threatened. Jefferson scored 14 points and the Tigers forced 19 turnovers while building a 43-27 halftime lead.
Montgomery is a Class 4A program, one level below Consolidated. The Bears finished third in their district last season, losing in the first round of the state playoffs.
Asked whether the lopsided win said more about the Tigers or about the competition, Segler said, "I really think we played well tonight. That's the kind of ball that we want to play, I don't care who we're playing."
Segler was not pleased that the Tigers got into some foul trouble, with point guard Timmy Hamilton missing the second quarter after his second foul and reserve forward Jay Flowers fouling out. Segler called Consol's 9 for 17 foul shooting horrible.
Otherwise, there was plenty to like. Hamilton and Xavier Workman contributed 16 points each to share scoring honors with Jefferson. Ray Holliday and Flowers led Consol with seven rebounds each.
Jeremiah Wolf scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Bears. Montgomery's 6-9 senior move-in, Andrew Corso, played briefly as a reserve before grabbing his bag in the second quarter and leaving the gym followed by an assistant coach. Corso did not return.
(Numbers indicate field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, rebounds, fouls and points)
CONSOL (1-0) -- Josh Ford 3-8 0-0 2 1 6; Timmy Hamilton 7-16 1-2 0 2 16; Jose Garcia 2-4 0-0 0 3 5; Jay Flowers 2-5 0-2 7 5 4; Terrence Bowser 5-11 1-2 4 2 12; Ray Holliday 3-8 2-6 7 4 8; Xavier Workman 5-11 4-4 4 1 16; Ryan Holleman 1-5 0-0 1 4 2; Kevin Jefferson 7-9 1-1 3 0 16. Totals: 35-77 9-17 35 22 85.
MONTGOMERY (0-1) -- Cody Heflin 0-1 0-0 1 0 0; Zach Hunley 0-0 4-4 2 0 4; Xavier Webb 0-3 0-0 1 1 0; Victor Viser 0-1 1-2 2 1 1; Barrett Lauer 2-4 2-2 3 2 6; Zach Huie 4-11 0-0 5 2 8; Dominique Edwards 2-4 0-0 5 2 8; Jeremiah Wolf 3-6 8-11 9 4 14; Colton Winters 2-5 3-4 6 1 7; Chase Kammerer 2-6 2-2 2 4 6; Andrew Corso 0-0 0-0 0 1 0. Totals: 15-41 20-25 39 17 51.
Montgomery 10 17 9 15 -- 51
Consol 20 23 21 21 -- 85
3-point shooting: Consol 6-20, Montgomery 1-5.
Turnovers: Consol 13, Montgomery 37.
JV score: Consol 82, Montgomery 36. AMC -- Stephen Bryant 31, C.J. Anderson 17, Tyler Hatch 15.
Freshman scores: Consol Maroon 48, Montgomery 40. AMC -- Chris Nutall 20, C.J. Goodman 14. Consol White 46, Montgomery 43. AMC -- Brent Fiechtner 9.
Next: Consol will host Round Rock Stony Point at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
• Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.
