Late free throw lifts Pocola over Hennessey
HENNESSEY’S Layton Choate (30) blocks a shot late in his team’s 40-39 loss to Pocola at the 2A state tournament. [KT&FP Staff Photo]
Sometimes you catch the breaks.
Sometimes you don’t. Hennessey didn’t on Tuesday and it saw the Eagles’ basketball season come to an end.
Pocola’s Austin Hardwick made the front end of a oneand- one with 2.8 seconds to play to break a tie game.
Without a timeout, James Sims had to fling a desperation shot nearly 80 feet after Hardwick missed his second attempt.
As the ball hit the court, the buzzer sounded on Pocola’s 40-39 victory over the No. 4 Eagles in the Class 2A quarterfinals at State Fair Arena.
“We normally win those types of games,” said Hennessey coach Brady Page. “We did some things we don’t normally do and had some things not fall our way at the end.”
Hardwick was sent to the line after a sequence that saw Layton Choate block Garrett Scott’s shot attempt in the lane.
Seth Simunek and Hardwick both went for the ball and Simunek was whistled for his fifth foul.
The block was Hennessey’s second in the final 90 seconds as Sims earlier had one, both times denying the seventh- ranked Indians the chance to reclaim the lead they held much of the game.
Jael Torres tied the score at 39-39 with 2:19 to play. Pocola worked the clock down to just under 1:30 when Sims denied a Brayden Hardwick shot.
Page called a timeout with 1:20 to go to set up the potential game-winning attack, but shortly after, Layton Choate turned it over when he stepped on the sideline.
Pocola missed multiple opportunities afterward and Sims fell while trying to get the rebound. The ball went out of bounds off his hands.
“It was just three or four plays like that at the end that got us,” Page said.
The ending soured a tremendous second-half performance by Jael Torres.
The junior big man scored 15 of his 19 points as he led his team back from a ninepoint deficit.
“He’s played against a few other good big men and they can’t really guard him,” Page said. “He had a great game.”
Sims scored five early points as the Eagles got out to a 7-3 lead. Pocola answered with a 7-0 run to take a lead it held much of the rest of the way.
The Indians closed the first half on a 6-0 run for a 24-15 lead.
Torres scored Hennessey’s first 10 points of the second half. His three-point play with 4:36 to go tied the game at 35-35.
It would be tied twice more, but Hennessey never took the lead.
Sims scored 13 points for the Eagles while Layton Choate added seven.
The Indians were led by Dakotah Terrell’s 14 points and eight rebounds.
Scott scored 11.