Wildcats fall by 1 on buzzer beater
The Sulphur Springs Wildcats were back in Allen Wednesday morning, looking to pick up where they left off the night before, when they beat Tyler Legacy by a final score of 75-55. With a record of 16-4 on the season, the Wildcats were also looking to pick up a fourth win in their last five games.
Going up against the 12-8 Knights of Frisco Independence, the Wildcats got off to one of their regular fast starts, opening the game on a 7-0 run, with senior Kordrick Turner scoring the first four points and senior Branson Lynn knocking down a pull-up 3-pointer. Sulphur Springs would continue to lead by that much for the remainder of the frame, as Lynn and Turner continued their strong play.
Lynn would go on to score on a floater later in the frame, before knocking down another 3-pointer, this time on an assist from Malachi Myles. Myles had fought hard and pulled in an offensive rebound, before spotting an open Lynn behind the 3-point line, forcing Frisco Independence to use a timeout.
After the timeout, Independence finished the frame on a much stronger note, scoring five points and allowing Sulphur Springs to score just once more. The final bucket of the frame for Sulphur Springs came on a drive by sophomore Theo Mckelvey, as the Wildcats led 21-15 at the end of the first quarter.
It was senior Parker Whisenhunt who ignited the Wildcats offense early in the second quarter. After allowing the Knights to cut the lead to 21-20, Whisenhunt knocked down a 3-poitner on an assist from Lynn.
On the following possession, Whisenhunt was able to force a steal on defense, putting him in perhaps his strongest position, when he’s in transition. The senior wing was able to beat everybody else up the floor, capping the play off with a huge two-hand slam.
Frisco Independence refused to let Sulphur Springs run away with it, however, as they would allow just six more points in the entire frame. The Knights even took the lead with just 44.9 seconds left in the half, though that wouldn’t last for long.
In the closing minutes of the half Turner made his presence felt in the post, scoring with three defenders trying to guard him. On the final play of the half Turner once again had the ball in the post, forcing the Knights defenders to pay extra attention to him.
Turner took two dribbles in the post, looking like he was going to set himself up for one final basket. Instead, he found an open Lynn in the corner, who was able to knock down the buzzer beater 3-pointer to give his team a 32-30 lead going into the locker room.
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The Wildcats carried that momentum into the second half, opening the third quarter on fire. Turner knocked down a jumper on the opening possession and Whisenhunt followed him with a drive on the next trip down the floor.
After that, Turner was able to knock down a pair of free throw’s, pushing the Wildcats lead to 38-30 early in the third quarter. Unfortunately for Sulphur Springs, that was the largest their lead would get for the remainder of the game.
The Knights of Frisco Independence went on a 13-2 run, capping it off with a pair of 3-pointers that forced coach Brandon Shaver to call a timeout with his team now trailing 43-40. Whisenhunt finished the frame strong, scoring on a pair of drives in the final minute.
His final basket, much like Lynn’s in the second quarter, came at the buzzer. Much like Lynn’s buzzer-beater 3-pointer, Turner had the ball in the post before passing out to Whisenhunt.
Whisenhunt caught the ball and drove hard to the goal, forcing the Knight’s help defense to close-in on him. Whisenhunt went up, splitting a pair of Knight’s defenders, before kissing the ball off the glass for the last-second layup.
Thanks to Whisenhunt’s impressive drive, the Wildcats went into the final quarter trailing by just two points, which they would get back immediately thanks to a McKelvey putback. After yet another 3-pointer from Frisco Independence, Sulphur Springs went on a 7-0 run to push their lead to 53-49 midway through the final frame.
The Knight’s answered back with a pair of scores and took a 54-53 lead with 3:27 left to play. From there neither team was able to find any offense for a few minutes, making it to the final 70 seconds of the game before anybody else would score.
It was then, senior Cole Theofiledes knocked down a huge 3-pointer that gave his team a 56-54 lead. The Sulphur Springs defense did their best to preserve the lead, but with 25.9 seconds left, Frisco Independence went to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game.
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The Knights’ made the first free throw, but couldn’t get the second one to go, making it a one-point game with less than 26 seconds to play. Frisco Independence would then have to foul to give themselves a chance, hoping Sulphur Springs would miss at the free throw line.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that’s exactly what happened, giving Frisco Independence the ball back with a chance to win the game. Sulphur Springs had a couple of fouls to give and did exactly that, forcing a sideline inbound pass with about five seconds on the clock.
The Knight’s inbounded the ball, knowing they only had time for one more shot. They were forced to throw up a contested floater from the free throw line, as Turner was playing tight on-ball defense. Despite the strong defense from Turner, the shot hit the back glass and went in as time expired, giving them the 57-56 win.
Offensively Sulphur Springs was led by their three seniors who have led the team in scoring this season. Whisenhunt was the leading man this time, scoring 17 points.
Turner was right behind him, scoring 16 points and also dishing out a number of assists. Lynn also finished in double-digits with 11 points.
McKelvy had four points for the Wildcats, while DJ Wilkerson and Theofiledes each had three points. Theofiledes’ go-ahead 3-poitner with 1:10 left was the final score for Sulphur Springs. Myles also scored, finishing the game with two points.
The loss was a tough one for Sulphur Springs, though they battled hard. The loss also keeps a trend going for Sulphur Springs, as now three of their five losses have been by one-score. Their other two losses this season have been a 10-point loss to Fort Bend Marshall and a six-point loss Mansfield.
The day isn’t over for Sulphur Springs, however, as they will be back in action at 5 p.m. this time against the Eagles of El Paso Andress. A recap article of that game will be provided on Front Porch News tomorrow.
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