Wildcats strike the final blow

John Hardaway likened Watonga to a snake…in a respectful manner.

“You think you have it taken care of and you bend down to pick it up and it bites at you,” Hardaway said. “You have to kill it twice.”

So the Cashion coach wasn’t surprised Thursday when the visiting Eagles threatened to erase a double- digit deficit during their Class 2A district championship game.

He was equally happy to see his Wildcats put away Watonga in the final minutes for a 79-62 win.

The victory keeps Cashion in the winner’s bracket entering this week’s regional. The 17th-ranked Wildcats will play No. 19 Mangum at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Watonga.

Brian Nabavi and Kyle Yowell led to Cashion’s quick start as they combined for five 3-pointers in the first quarter.

That and 6 points from Grayson Little helped boost the home team to a 23-9 lead.

But Watonga crept back into it.

The Eagles pulled within 8 by halftime and were down just 49-45 on Izaiah Wilson’s steal and layup with 2:00 to go in the third quarter.

Watonga was still lurking at 56-51 early in the fourth when Cashion made its final surge.

Brayden Stuemky made two big 3-pointers, Yowell added another and so did Nabavi.

Those were part of a 16-6 run that saw the Wildcat advantage swell 15 points with 3:10 remaining.

Little put the game to rest with a three-point play with 1:43 to go.

A junior forward, Little scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds.

Nabavi was 4 of 5 from long range for all 12 of his points. He also had 5 assists.

Yowell also drained four 3-pointers and scored 16 points. He chipped in 4 assists and 5 boards.

The steady hand was Parker Mitchell, who torched the Eagles for 27 points.

He joined Stuemky, who scored 8, in making two 3-pointers.

As a team, Cashion was 12 of 24 from long range.

The Wildcats also made 15 of 17 free throws. Mitchell went 11 of 11 from the line.

The Eagles were led by Terner Wigington’s 20 points. Wilson scored 13.