Glenn’s Orden Roberts (10) shoots the ball as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
LEANDER — Glenn may be a second half team.
And in more ways than one.
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Glenn’s Mikai Etiobhio (3) guards Rouse’s Dezmond Brown (2) as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn students cheer as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s Mike Jenkins shoots the ball as he’s guarded by Glenn’s Orden Roberts as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s Mike Jenkins passes the ball as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn’s Dallas Hernandez shoots the ball as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn’s Elijah Kumwenda shoots the ball as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn’s Dallas Hernandez dribbles toward the basket as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn’s Justin Lee shoots the ball as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse students cheer as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s KJ Scott fouls Glenn’s Orden Roberts as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s D’Andre Gardner dribbles toward the basket as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn’s Mikai Etiobhio (3) and Dallas Hernandez (24) guard Rouse’s KJ Scott (0) as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn’s Malik Etiobhio looks to pass to a teammate as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn’s Orden Roberts shoots the ball as Rouse’s Ayden Davis guards him as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s Trey Nielson dribbles the ball as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s Mike Jenkins shoots the ball as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn’s Hudson Roberts shoots the ball as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s D’andre Gardner shoots the ball while guarded by Glenn’s Justin Lee as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s Mike Jenkins dribbles toward the basket as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn’s Malik Ehobhio looks to pass to a teammate as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s Ayden Davis reacts to a call as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s Myles Farmer reaches for the ball as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s Myles Farmer guards the basket as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn’s Orden Roberts dribbles toward the basket as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s Dezmond Brown shoots while being guarded by Glenn’s Orden Roberts as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Glenn’s Justin Lee shoots the ball as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rouse’s D’andre Gardner shields Mike Jenkins shot as Rouse and Glenn face off at Rouse High School Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Glenn won 68-57.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
After blitzing Rouse 31-12 over the final 10 minutes Tuesday on the way to a 68-57 win to stay undefeated in District 25-5A play, the Grizzlies have won 11 of their last 12 following a 7-8 start to the year.
Roughly 10 months after it qualified for the playoffs on the last day of the season with a sub-.500 record, then made a run to the Class 5A Division II regional final, Glenn isn’t taking anyone by surprise anymore. But it is getting everyone’s attention.
It’s safe to say, the Grizzlies may be forming a habit of playing well when it matters most.
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“We play a tough schedule, so we knew we’d go through some speed bumps early on,” said Glenn coach Jon Ortiz, who perennially loads his nondistrict schedule with Class 6A schools and tough tournaments and is more concerned with the season’s last two months. “It’s all to get prepared for this, because our district is really, really good.”
Though they’re paced by two dynamic senior scorers in point guard Dallas Hernandez and forward Orden Roberts, the Grizzlies can easily go 10 players deep with no major dropoff. With an abundance of length and athleticism, their defense seems at its best in pressure situations, whether that’s in the full court or halfcourt.
And that’s what they used on Rouse’s home floor to spur a 17-3 run over a stretch from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth to take a lead they’d never relinquish.
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“I called a timeout in the third quarter, and from that point forward, I thought our defense was where it needed to be,” Ortiz said. “Rouse is a good team with a dude (D’Andre Gardner) surrounded by shooters. And that’s hard to guard. But we did a really good job later in the second half of knowing our assignments and putting pressure on the ball.”
Orden Roberts had nine of his team-high 19 points for Glenn in the third quarter, including an old-fashioned three-point play that started the team’s crucial run.
“Our intensity picked up late in the third,” Roberts said. “On defense, we were getting on loose balls and everything. … When we pressure and get energy, steals, layups and back-to-back scores, it brings things up.”
Hudson Roberts tallied six of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, while Hernandez marked one of six other Grizzlies who scored in the stretch.
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“We knew we had to pick it up because this game was for first place in the district,” Hudson Roberts said. “One thing about this team is everyone’s (talented). If somebody’s having an off night, someone else is always going to step up.”
Glenn (18-9, 6-0) will probably be 8-0 in the district before it starts its second run through the gauntlet of Liberty Hill, Cedar Park, Leander and Rouse. But second halves seem to be where the Grizzlies thrive.
“We’ve been playing team basketball the last six weeks,” said Hernandez, who finished with 12 points. “We’ve been playing our style of getting downhill, kicking out and hitting open shots.”
Rouse having a solid year
Gardner’s 22 points led Rouse (15-11, 4-2), who is still very much in the district title hunt and has a key game Friday at Liberty Hill.
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Raiders coach Shane Krause, who has his team in the playoffs on an annual basis, liked the first half from his squad, then tipped his cap to what Glenn did down the stretch.
“We came out great to start the game and kind of … slowed them down,” Krause said. “They’re very, very good offensively and we were physical and stuck to our plan. … But we had multiple turnovers and bad plays in the third quarter, and that gave them momentum to start the fourth. And then we just got beat. They made plays and we didn’t.”
Gardner, the American-Statesman’s newcomer of the year in 2024-25, may be one of the better players in Central Texas, but he’s hardly a one-man show. Guards KJ Scott, Trey Nielson, Mike Jenkins, Dezmond Brown, Ayden Davis and Myles Farmer are all scoring threats. And while a decent team will be left out of the playoffs from District 25-5A, it would be a surprise if it’s the Raiders.
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“I like how well our players are locked in with each other,” Krause said. “It’s a really fun group to work hard at practice with and to compete with on Tuesdays and Fridays. There’s no bad attitudes. There’s no selfishness. There’s a team-first mentality from the best player all the way down.”