Chargers pull away late to beat KHS

Kingfisher kept taking punches over the final two days of the Wheat Capital Tournament and kept responding.

Finally, it became one punch too many.

Heritage Hall delivered the knockout blow in the fourth quarter Saturday night.

The Chargers started the quarter on a 19-4 run and held off the Jackets 72-62 in the championship game of the tournament’s 57th annual version.

The Jackets trailed by 10 in the first quarter, but came back to lead much of the second.

They were down as many as six in the third quarter, but within two entering the final frame.

It was much the same Friday in a thrilling 58-57 win over Chisholm in which KHS trailed by eight in the first half and by nine in the third quarter.

The Longhorns were up five entering the fourth before Kingfisher outscored them 14-8.

But it wasn’t without drama.

Cash Laird scored three straight for KHS, the last of which was the first of two free throws with 34 seconds to go to give Kingfisher a 58-55 lead.

Teshon Medlock’s bucket 9 seconds later made it a onepoint game.

Kingfisher twice in the final seconds had a chance to garner more distance, but went 0 for 4 from the free throw line.

ThelastmissgaveChisholm a chance to take the lead, but had to go the length of the court with just over 4 seconds left.

That apparently happened as Longhorn standout Cooper Westfahl just beat the buzzer in knocking down the apparent game-winning jumper.

The home crowd was in a delighted frenzy, but was soon sent into an angry one.

One of the game officials had blown the play dead when he realized the clock hadn’t started.

After much discussion between officials and with coaches, Chisholm was given the ball near midcourt with 2 seconds to play.

This time Westfahl’s shot was well off the mark and the Jackets escaped.

Westfahl and the Longhorns led much of the game and went up 27-19 in the second quarter.

The senior had 13 points by the half and 19 after three quarters, but only scored 2 in the fourth.

The Jackets saw five different players score in the fourth as they mounted their comeback.

Hayes White had 6 of those and scored 17 in the game.

Cash Laird added 3 in the quarter and 13 overall while Michael Easley finished with 12. Croston Martin chipped in 8 points in the win.

Heritage Hall was the tournament’s top seed, undefeated and ranked No. 3 in 3A.

The Chargers not only featured a pair of recruited juniors in guard Xzavier Mbroh and forward Boogie Bradshaw, but also featured a sharp-shooting freshman by the name of Timothy Young.

He is the younger brother of NBA All-Star guard Trae Young, who was recently traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Washington Wizards.

Heritage Hall had not been tested in the tournament and appeared ready to put away KHS early.

Young knocked down two 3-pointers and Mbroh had two quick buckets as Heritage Hall raced to a 16-6 lead.

But the Jackets mounted a comeback.

Laird scored 9 in the first quarter as KHS pulled within 19-17. He started the second with a 3-pointer to give Kingfisher its first lead.

The Jackets maintained it much of the quarter and were up 32-28 on Easley’s three-point play at the 3:30 mark.

The Chargers pulled even by the break and started the third quarter strong before Kingfisher made one final push.

Easley and Laird combined for 10 points in the third to give the Jackets hope.

But that hope was extinguished by Heritage Hall in the fourth.

The Chargers got a quick 6-0 burst to push their lead to double digits and didn’t look back.

It grew to as much as 68-51.

Laird did his best to keep the Jackets in it as he scored 9 more in the fourth to lead all scorers with 29. He also led the team with 8 boards and 4 assists and was named to the all-tournament team.

Joining him was White, who finished with 9 points and 3 assists.

Easley scored 18 in the finals.

Mbroh led the Chargers with 20 points and was the tournament MVP. He also had 8 assists.

Young scored 17, Bradshaw 10 and Denton Suthers poured in another 13.

The loss dropped KHS to 9-2 on the season and didn’t hurt the Jackets in the rankings. They actually moved up from No. 12 to ninth in 4A.

“I am proud of my guys for taking punches and just staying the course,” said coach Colby Connel. “Friday was crazy and, yes, Heritage Hall jumped us early. In those moments, we never looked panicked or frazzled.”

Connel found common themes in Kingfisher’s defeats with the other being to 2A’s No. 1 Dale.

“Our issues have been a lack of offensive execution leading to easy transition opportunities for those opponents,” he said.

The Jackets had 14 assists and 13 turnovers in the game. In the fourth, there was just one assist and four turnovers.

However, Connel said the Jackets continue to play a better brand of basketball.

“We are shortening the spurts of bad basketball that we are playing,” he said. “I am happy that we are trending in the right direction.”