Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
There's an old adage in sports circles that says, “To be the best, you have to beat the best.” That sentiment was on full display on Tuesday, Jan. 31, in the Madison County High School (MCHS) gym, when the MCHS Cowboys faced off with the number one basketball team in Class 1A, the Red Devils of Williston High School.
The evening began with the junior varsity teams meeting on the court. It was a closely contested game with the Red Devils taking a slight 11-9 lead at the end of the first period.
During the second quarter, the Cowboys managed to keep pace with the larger sized Red Devils, but were unable to close the narrow gap separating the two teams. The Red Devils held a 22-20 edge at intermission.
During the third quarter, the Red Devils opened their lead and the score was 33-26, going into the final period. During the final period, the Cowboys outscored the Red Devils 17-14, but that was not quite enough to overtake the visiting team and the game ended in a Red Devil, 47-43, victory.
When the varsity teams hit the court, it was obvious that the Cowboys would have their work cut out for them. Facing a team that greatly outsized the Cowboys meant the Cowboys would have to rely on their team speed to wear down the larger Red Devils. If the Cowboys could keep the game close, they might have a chance of pulling off an upset, late in the game.
The Red Devils opened a lead early in the contest and the score was 18-12, in favor of the visitors, at the end of the opening period. The Cowboys were able to close the gap slightly during the second quarter, but the Red Devils still took a 21-17 lead into halftime. Previously, during the season, the Red Devils had shown a tendency to falter during the third quarter. This was not the case on Tuesday evening. The Red Devils managed to maintain their lead, although the Cowboys kept the game close and within reach. The third quarter ended with a 38-31 lead for the Red Devils.
During the final period, the Cowboys began to chip away at the Red Devils' lead. At one point, late in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys held a four-point advantage. The Red Devils recovered from that and in the final minute had moved ahead of the Cowboys. Then, with the score 48- 47, in favor of the Red Devils, LaBron Lee hit a three-point shot with 7.5 seconds remaining, giving the Cowboys a 50-48 lead. As the Red Devils moved the ball down the court, Orient Livingston reached in and stole the ball and proceeded in the opposite direction, effectively running out the clock and sealing a big Cowboy victory.
Lee led the Cowboys in scoring, with 13 points. Jonathan Akins chalked up 11 points for the Cowboys. “For a lot of folks that attended the game, they saw the size of Williston and instantly didn't give us a chance,” said MCHS Head Coach Allen Demps. “We're small in stature but all of them have big hearts and are willing to fight with any team. The guys started slow, as we normally do, but settled down to make the game manageable. As the game got late, they started to believe even more and we were able to make some timely shots that ultimately put us in the win column. [It was a] great win against a great team.”
The Cowboys now have the Class 1A District Five tournament, taking place in Branford, Fla., which started on Tuesday, Feb. 7 and will continue through Friday, Feb. 10. The top two finishers in the district tournament will move on to the “Sweet 16” state title tournament