Wildcats improve their winning streak to 5 games
The Sulphur Springs Wildcats once again hit the road Friday, traveling to Pittsburg for their final game in the first round of district. The Wildcats successfully picked up wins in each of their first four district games, and were looking to extend their streak to five games.
Sulphur Springs not only entered the night on a four-game winning streak, but had done so very impressively, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 249-183. During that stint, they won on average by a score of 62-45.
The Wildcats opened Friday’s game with perhaps their most impressive quarter of district play so far, completely dominating from the opening tip. Sulphur Springs was able to dominate both offensively and defensively, using turnovers for easy points on the other end.
The Wildcats scored the first 19 points of the game, getting contributions from just about every player on the floor. Pittsburg was finally able to get on the board in the final minute of the opening frame, as Sulphur Springs led 22-2 going into the second quarter.
With Pittsburg finally able to switch the momentum to their side, it was senior Parker Whisenhunt who knocked down a 3-pointer in the corner midway through the second frame to slow them down. While they scoring slowed down drastically for the Wildcats in the second frame, they were still able to keep a firm hold on their lead, going into the locker room up 31-15 at the end of the first half.
Sulphur Springs set the tone as early as possible in the second half, hitting a 3-pointer on the opening possession, before forcing a steal on the other end. Senior point guard Branson Lynn forced the steal and passed it away to Whisenhunt, who got the layup to go for a quick 5-0 swing.
Later in the frame it was senior Cole Theofiledes who forced a steal. Theofiledes went coast-to-coast, scoring on the other end to push the Wildcats lead to 45-19.
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Sulphur Springs kept their strong play going even in the final frame, though the game was far out of reach already. They were able to hold Pittsburg to single-digits in the quarter once again, as they would walk away with a big 64-27 victory.
Senior Malachi Myles was the leading scorer for Sulphur Springs, keeping his impressive run going. Myles scored 15 points on a very efficient 7-8 shooting, and even more impressively, had a plus-minus of +42.
Whisenhunt and Lynn followed behind him, each scoring in double-digits as well. Whisenhunt had 14 points on 6-11 from the field, with 10 of his points coming from inside the paint.
Lynn had 10 points and also led the team with six assists. Lynn also had four rebounds and turned the ball over just once the entire match.
Sophomore Theo McKelvey was next, adding seven points and shooting 3-5 inside the 3-point line. Senior Kordrick Turner also had seven points, in a game in which he only had six field goal attempts.
Gavin White had five points for the Wildcats, while DJ Wilkerson, Macaulin Rollison and Theofiledes each had two points. The win pushes the Wildcats record to 23-7 on the year and keeps them at a perfect 5-0 in district play.
Sulphur Springs finds themselves back in the Top-10 after the newest update to the TABC poll. After being right on the outside looking in, the Wildcats are back to being the No. 10 ranked team in the state.
With one half of district in the books, Sulphur Springs will look to see if they can keep their winning streak going.
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