Bears play spoiler to Wildcats, 70-66
ers on his way to the basket during Monday night's 70-66 win
over Mount Enterprise. Hooper finished the game with 21 points.
(Photo by John Krueger)
TIMPSON -- With their playoff hopes for the 2009-10 season over, the Timpson Bears had an opportunity to play the role of spoiler Monday night here in Bear Gymnasium when they hosted the playoff-bound Mount Enterprise Wildcats. The 'Cats were tied with New Summerfield for second place heading into the regular season finale, with both teams having already clinched postseason berths.
Timpson built as much as a 14-point third-quarter lead before the Mount Enterprise came storming back in the final quarter. But the Bears had enough energy left in the end to record a 70-66 season-ending victory and drop the Wildcats back to a third-place finish in District 22-1A.
While the Bears finished the season just shy of a .500 mark (12-13), the win gave THS a 6-6 district mark and a fourth-place finish. Mount Enterprise dropped to 16-13 on the year and 8-4 in 22-1A play. Monday's MEHS loss, combined with New Summerfield's 50-39 win over Gary on Tuesday, gave the Hornets (19-12, 9-3) the second spot in the district behind Tenaha and a bi-district playoff date with LaPoynor. Mount Enterprise will take on Hubbard in bi-district action early next week.
The Wildcats will now participate in the Tyler Chapter of Officials Boys Playoff Preview on Saturday in Tenaha's Special Events Center. The schedule for the day's contests of playoff-bound teams hasn't been completed as of Tuesday night, but the Wildcats know they'll be taking on Karnack at a time yet to be determined. The rest of the schedule will be announced late Wednesday.
The Bears won the contest despite turning the ball over 29 times. The Wildcats also struggled in the turnover department, committing 24.
The Wildcats' Larry Solomon led all scorers with 23 points, while Marlon White dropped in 16 points and Clayton Owens chipped in 12. D.T. Bryant was held to eight points.
Seniors Marquies Bussey and Daylon Hooper led the Bears as they combined for 44 of the Bears' 70 points. Bussey threw in 23 points, while Hooper filled up the bucket with 21. Christon Ballard scored 10 points, Lorenzo Young chipped in seven, Rody Page scored five and Jaylin Rhodes added four points.
Timpson got off to a smooth start in the opening period as Paige and Young both connecting with 3-pointers to give the Bears a 14-12 lead at the end of the quarter.
The teams battled back and forth for half of the second quarter until the Bears went on a 15-2 run over the final 3:33 of the half to turn a one-point deficit into a 40-28 lead at the break. Bussey keyed the run for THS with five layups and 10 points. Ballard added a three pointer as well.
But the Wildcats' press began to effect the Bears in the third quarter as Timpson turned the ball over 10 times and Young, Solomon and Owens each scored four points in the quarter and the 'Cats cut the lead to 54-49 at the end of the period.
Solomon hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first 3:35 of the fourth quarter and Bryant added a trey of his own and suddenly Mount Enterprise went on a 15-5 spurt in the first 4:26 of the fourth to grab a 64-59 lead.
But after a Timpson timeout with 3:24 remaining, the Bears scored 11 of the final 13 points to take the 4-point win. Trailing 68-66 with 40 seconds remaining, Mount Enterprise had several opportunities to tie the score, but couldn't connect when the game was on the line.
District 22-1A Standings & Results
STATS AT A GLANCE
Scoring by Quarters
Mt. Enterprise 12 16 21 17 = 66
Timpson 14 26 14 16 = 70
Individual Scorers: Mt. Enterprise - Larry Solomon 23; Marlon White 16; Clayton Owens 12; D.T. Bryant 8; Chance Young 4; B. Chapman 4; S. Davis 2; K. Innerarity 1. Timpson - Marquies Bussey 23; Daylon Hooper 21; Christon Ballard 10; Lorenzo Young 7; Rody Paige 5; Jaylin Rhodes 4.
Free Throws: Mt. Enterprise 1-of-5 (20%); Timpson 6-of-19 (31.6%).
Turnovers: Mt. Enterprise 24; Timpson 29.
Records: Mt. Enterprise 16-13, 8-4 district; Timpson 12-13, 6-6 district.
Up Next: Mount Enterprise will play Karnack in a warmup game Saturday at Tenaha (time TBA); Timpson's season is over.