Needing a road win over Wylie to stay in the District 4-5A title race, the Abilene High boys basketball team secured the result it was looking for Friday at Bulldog Gym. But getting there was anything but easy.
The Eagles got all they could handle from a shorthanded Bulldogs squad, which rallied from a trio of 13-point deficits in the third quarter to take a five-point lead with less than four minutes remaining in the game. But coach Justin Reese’s squad had the final run in a second half that was full of them to escape with a thrilling 65-64 victory.
Down 61-56 with 3:53 to play, AHS responded with nine consecutive points, using a pair of Tyson Thompson free throws to ice the game late before a Will Evans 3-pointer at the buzzer pulled the final margin to one.
The win, when combined with Cooper’s 42-39 triumph over Lubbock Cooper, kept the Eagles just a game back of the Pirates for first in District 4-5A heading into Tuesday’s regular season finale against the Cougars.
“I was super proud of our guys,” Reese said. “I thought Wylie played great. Coach (Gregg) Ruffin did a great job. I have a lot of respect for those guys and their kids played great. They hit a big 3 to go up five late. We wouldn’t have won that the last couple of years, but we had great poise and great leadership.
“I’m super proud of our guys to come out with a win like that in a hostile environment. We grew up a little bit more tonight.”
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams trade jabs but miss on any potential haymakers.
Abilene High opened the game with five consecutive points, but Wylie closed the gap to one (18-17) by the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs continued their run into the second quarter, taking a 27-23 lead with 3:15 to play before halftime, but the Eagles closed the half strong to take a 32-29 advantage into the break.
It wasn’t until after halftime that either team achieved any real separation, and it was visiting Abilene High that did so, using a 14-4 run to take a 46-33 lead with just under four minutes to play in the third quarter. The Eagles would maintain that 13-point cushion at 50-37 with 2:25 remaining on the third-quarter clock, but again Wylie would respond.
The Bulldogs scored the final five points of the third period to pull within eight at 50-42 and opened the fourth with a 14-6 run to knot the game at 56-all before tacking on five more points on a Shiyloh Fisher layup and a Martin Marshall 3-pointer to take their largest lead of the game at 61-56.
“I’m really proud of our effort,” Ruffin said. “We had some guys step up. We were missing a couple of players, so to have the fight (was big). They got us down and we answered back. For us to do that was really big.
“I think if we can get in the playoffs — now we’ve got to wait and see — but if we can get in the playoffs, I think we’re good enough that we can surprise some people or at least give some people a run for their money, more than what they may think.”
Wylie couldn’t put the Eagles away either, however. A Connel Colley jumper narrowed the gap to one possession (61-58) with 3:35 to play, and after the Bulldogs tried to use some clock on their next possession, AHS regained the momentum with a steal that led to a three-point play opportunity on the other end.
Colley, who narrowed the gap to 61-60 with a tough finish, couldn’t get the tying free throw to fall, but the Eagles turned an offensive rebound into a 3-pointer by Brooks Reese to regain the lead at 63-61 with 1:18 showing on the clock.
“We played great to start the third and they answered and played really great after that run,” Reese said. “We just couldn’t ever put them away. I thought the Wylie kids did a great job, and I’m just proud of our guys for sticking with it on the road and finding a way to win.”
Wylie had a couple of chances to answer on its next possession, but Fisher missed a tough layup and Marshall couldn’t get a corner 3 to fall.
This gave AHS the ball with less than a minute remaining, but a turnover on the Eagles’ next possession gave the Bulldogs one last opportunity at the lead with less than 20 seconds to play. Wylie got a good look, but Marshall’s go-ahead 3-point attempt from the left wing missed off the back rim, and Tyson grabbed the rebound and made both of his free throws with 3.08 seconds remaining to finally seal the victory for Abilene High.
“Abilene High’s a good team,” Ruffin said. “We had two really good opponents the last two games — the top of the district — but I like the way the kids fought and I like the way they handled stuff.
“Sometimes you win them, sometimes you lose them. If you hit that shot at the end, you win, even through all the other stuff we had. We just didn’t hit it. But I’ll take Martin shooting that shot all day long.”
The Eagles got a balanced scoring effort in the victory, led by Eric Salazar with 17 points, Colley with 16 and Brooks Reese with 15. Jatyran Smith also scored in double figures, finishing with 10.
Wylie, which was without a pair of starters, was led in the loss by Marshall and Fisher with 14 points apiece, while Keegan Anderson added 13 big points off the bench. Other contributors for the Bulldogs included Evans with eight points and Kamden Wright with seven.
The loss ended Wylie’s regular season at 16-16 overall and 6-6 in District 4-5A play.
Ruffin’s squad will now have to watch Tuesday’s game between Cooper and Abilene High to learn its postseason fate. If the Cougars win that one, they’ll earn a playoff against Wylie for the district’s fourth and final playoff spot.
An Abilene High win, however, would clinch Wylie a playoff berth — and potentially create a three-way tie atop the league standings, should Lubbock Monterey (16-16, 8-3) defeat Lubbock Cooper (20-10, 9-2) at home on Tuesday.
“We’ve got another big one (on Tuesday) — a big rivalry game on Senior Night,” Coach Reese said. “Cooper will give us everything they have. Coach (Michael) Bacon will have them ready to roll, so we’re excited. This was a big game for us and now we’ve got to go play really well at home to finish this regular season off.”
DISTRICT 4-5A
ABILENE HIGH 65, WYLIE 64
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | ||
| Abilene High | 18 | 14 | 18 | 15 | — | 65 |
| Wylie | 17 | 12 | 13 | 22 | — | 64 |
Abilene High (22-10, 8-3) — Brooks Reese 6 1-2 15, Demarco Upshaw 2 0-1 4, Eric Salazar 6 0-0 17, Connel Colley 8 0-1 16, Josh Melson 0 0-2 0, Jatyran Smith 5 0-0 10, Tyson Thompson 0 2-2 2, Mario Berry 0 1-2 1, Sawyer Moss 0 0-0 0, Bryce Neves 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 4-10 65.
Wylie (16-16, 6-6) — Isaiah Carrillo 2 1-2 5, Martin Marshall 5 0-0 14, Jalen Whisenhunt 0 0-0 0, Cameron Vann 0 0-0 0, Kamden Wright 3 0-0 7, Hudson Tuley 1 0-0 3, Gavyn Fernandez 0 0-0 0, Shiyloh Fisher 6 2-2 14, Swade Sipe 0 0-0 0, Will Evans 3 0-0 8, Keegan Anderson 6 0-0 13. Totals 26 3-4 64.
3-Point Goals — Abilene High 7 (Reese 2, Salazar 5); Wylie 9 (Marshall 4, Wright 1, Tuley 1, Evans 2, Anderson 1). Fouled Out — Fisher. Technical Fouls — None. Total Fouls — Abilene High 11; Wylie 10.