Dawgs stun Shoemaker for 1st 12-5A win
Posted On: Saturday, Feb. 6 2010 05:18 AM
By Angel Verdejo
Killeen Daily HeraldCOPPERAS COVE – Copperas Cove coach Billy White has continually told his team this season that they needed to play for 32 minutes, the length of a regulation high school game.
He got about 26 from his Bulldawgs on Friday.
The final six minutes weren't pretty – not from the Cove side that is – but it was enough. The Dawgs jumped out to a big lead on Shoemaker and held on late as the Grey Wolves fell just short on a rally attempt, resulting in a 73-68 Cove win.
Cove (11-21) gets its first win in District 12-5A play, snapping a 10-game losing streak to start league play. The Dawgs have been close, losing to A&M Consolidated by three points and Harker Heights by six Tuesday.
"This feels good," said senior Antonio Clemons, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds. "The intensity – it can make you or break you and today we kept it up."
As big as the win was for the Dawgs, it may have been equally disastrous for Shoemaker (16-14, 6-5). The Grey Wolves entered Friday in a four-team tie for second place. Shoemaker now drops into fifth with three games to play after losing and Ellison, A&M Consolidated and Temple all winning Friday.
"The Cove kids played hard and our kids played like they didn't care," Shoemaker coach Marc Minatrea said. "They didn't show much effort and I can't coach effort. No coach can coach effort."
It started early, as Cove jumped out to a 15-2 lead. Shoemaker went nearly three minutes until its first basket off the game (a Jade Allen layup), then went another four until scoring again. Cove led 17-6 after one quarter before Shoemaker cut it to five at halftime.
"They came out ready to play," White said. "We knocked some shots, though there were still some shots in there that we didn't get, but the main thing with that was we were able to rebound their shot. That didn't let them get those second and third opportunities."
Cove outrebounded Shoemaker 38-33, but 15 of the Grey Wolves' rebounds came in the fourth quarter.
The Dawgs took control in the third quarter. After an Anthony Gonzales 3-pointer cut the lead to 27-25, Cove forced the Grey Wolves into turnovers on three straight possessions. From there, the Dawgs scored on 11 straight possessions, stretching their lead to 17 points.
Shoemaker made a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, scoring the same number in the final period (34) as the first three.
Cove's double-digit lead shrank to three after three turnovers and three missed layups in the final three minutes. An Allen (25 points, 10 rebounds) three-point play made it 69-66, but the Grey Wolves had to foul and Romando Garcia (17 points) hit four free throws in the final seconds and all 10 he took in the fourth quarter.