Jaden Carrillo only had one field goal in the Cooper boys basketball team’s must-win matchup with Wichita Falls Legacy on Tuesday at Cougar Gym. But it was the most important bucket of the game in a dramatic 34-33 win for the Cougars.
With his team trailing by a point after a J’Quan Carroll free throw broke a 33-all tie with just under 17 seconds remaining in the game, the senior guard was given the keys to the offense when play resumed out of a timeout on the Coogs’ final possession. With time ticking down, he drove around and past Legacy’s Jerimiah Smith, going all the way to the rim for a go-head layup with 2.9 seconds to play.
That proved to be the game-winner for Cooper (13-13 overall, 2-4 in district), which rallied from a 27-13 third-quarter deficit to score the victory, pulling within a half-game of Legacy (9-19, 3-4) and Wichita Falls Memorial (14-17, 3-4) for third in District 4-5A and within a game of Wylie (12-13, 3-3) for second.
STEPHENVILLE — With archrival Brownwood paying Stephenville a visit on Tuesday the storylines in both ends of a varsity doubleheader at Gandy Gym were quite similar: A heavily-favored, district title contender facing a stubborn rival still battling for a playoff spot.
With weather postponements forcing Tolar to play three games last week, there was positive in an otherwise hectic week: It gave one of THS’ athletes the opportunity to showcase a remarkable run of consistency. 
WINTERS — Separated by only 16 miles along Highway 83, Ballinger and Winters have shared an athletic rivalry that predates the Great Depression.
Leading Cisco’s girls and boys basketball teams are hard-working coaches’ kids.
You have to appreciate a player who can contribute big numbers in several different ways. And in the case of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, such players have an advantage when it comes to taking down our weekly award. 
Ysée Le Borgne may feel like a fish out of water living in Ballinger, Texas. After all, the 16-year-old foreign exchange student and native of Lille, France is more than 5,000 miles and (needless to say), a major cultural shift away from her hometown. 
TOLAR — With a piece of the girls District 8-3A lead at stake, it wasn’t difficult to project an intense matchup between visiting Comanche and the Tolar Lady Rattlers on Friday. 