Badgers edge Round Rock Westwood at buzzer
Posted On: Sunday, Dec. 20 2009 06:07 AM
By Nick Talbot
Killeen Daily HeraldAUSTIN – The last-second play the Lampasas Badgers set up did not work.
They bided their time perfectly, using almost every one of the 36 seconds that remained to find the shot, and executed the double screen to get Eduardo Davila free.
Davila's shot simply did not fall.
It did not matter. Luck was on their side.
The ball clanged off the rim and squirted out the hands of the waiting rebounders and fell back into the hands of Davila, who was standing only millimeters behind the 3-point arc.
The senior threw up a last-second shot as the buzzer sounded.
It hit the side of the rim and rattled on down through the net, giving the Badgers (6-8) a 46-45 win over the Round Rock Westwood Warriors at Westwood High on Saturday.
"Honestly I did not know it was a 3-pointer," said Davila, who had not hit a 3-pointer all season. "I thought I had tied the game … every day in practice we do a 3-point contest and I guess that helped me out a lot.
"I did not think we were going to win. I thought we had messed up and not done the play right, but the ball just came to me."
Westwood (8-8) opened the game on a tear, leading 19-10 after the first quarter thanks to the hot hand of Jeff Reed, who scored 11 of his team-leading 15 points in the opening frame.
And when Brian Jones hit a 3-pointer at the outset of the second quarter to give the Warriors a 24-14 lead, the game looked like it was going to be a blowout.
"We do not start very well," said Lampasas coach Scott Harrelson.
"I actually have my bench starting the game because they run the offense and (Davila) is the only one who can score.
He got a couple of quick baskets.
"The second group is my real team and they really get after the defense."
The strategy seems to work.
The win was the fourth in the row for the Badgers, who started the season with only two wins in their first 10 games.
And as planned, the second unit came through again.
Astin Murry and Carlos Cintron hit 3-pointers and the Badgers pulled within two points, 28-26, just before halftime.
In the third, Westwood's Derek Nabodka hit a 3-pointer and Damonte Jackson scored two baskets underneath as the Warriors maintained control of the lead.
Reed hit two more shots in the opening minute of the fourth and Westwood extended its lead to 43-37.
They did not hit another one. The Badger defense held the Warriors without a field goal for 6½ minutes and slowly Lampasas crept back into the game.
"I thought our defense played really well," Harrelson said. "The big kid made a couple of shots on us … but they missed shots in the second half and we took care of business."
Gabe Myles hit a jumper midway through the quarter and cut the Warrior lead to 43-41.
Westwood only connected on two of its four foul shots down the stretch and Davila scored underneath the basket with 38 seconds left to get the Badgers within two again.
Lampasas immediately fouled and Jones missed both free-throw attempts and gave the Badgers one last chance to win the game or at least send it to overtime – the chance Davila took full advantage of with his buzzer-beating, game-winning 3-pointer.
"We were setting a double screen at the top and the guy came open, but it was not time to shoot," Harrelson said. "We wanted to get Davila coming across the key … we got him the ball and he hesitated, but the guys never lost their cool. He missed the shot, but got it back and made it.
"It was just lucky. It was (the best win of the season) by far)."
Contact Nick Talbot at
ntalbot@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7569.