After letting a late lead slip away in a 53-52 loss at Wichita Falls High in their district opener on Jan. 17, the Cooper Cougars had little choice but to beat the Coyotes in Tuesday’s return trip if they hoped to secure a playoff spot out of District 4-5A.

Tipping off 2½ hours earlier than scheduled to beat the arrival of a forecasted winter storm, coach Bryan Conover’s squad did just that.

Leading by just six points at halftime after a rocky second quarter, the Coogs outscored the Coyotes 23-7 in the third to run away with a 69-51 home win and pull even with Aledo for the third spot in the 4-5A standings.