Wildcats down Panthers in Area

FORNEY - The Sulphur Springs Wildcats are a team of habits and that continued in the playoffs.

Sulphur Springs exploded for an early 14-point lead and kept the pressure on Midlothian winning 65-40 Friday, Feb. 25. It was the ninth consecutive win for the team under first-year head coach Brandon Shaver.

Shaver, wearing his lucky yellow tie, just keeps following winning habits and pushing the right buttons.

The area Class 5A playoff game at Forney High School was decided early as the Wildcats came out with a tenacious attack that Panthers could not counter.

The Wildcats came into the game with five starters averaging 10 or more points a game. That rule held true with five players in double digits.

Parker Whisenhunt led the way with 15 and two 3-pointers; Justin Haire scored 13 in the paint or off the wing; Caleb Alexander pumped in a pair of treys and also totaled 13; Kordrick Turner, a man in the middle had a dozen points; Branson Lynn tickled the twine for 10 points with two long range missiles; Cason Arrington added one point.

The lone scoring threat for Midlothian was Kelton Williams with 25, one 3-pointer. Other members of the team were stymied by foul trouble.

The Wildcats feature a lineup with more size and power. Midlothian had to try double teams to stop the scoring, it didn’t work.

At the free throw line the Wildcats dominated making 12 of 15 free throws, 11 in the first half.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 19-5 lead after one period and controlled the action the remainder of the game.

“We pride ourselves on getting out early, we played well. We knew Midlothian would have trouble guarding our size. We went right at them and they got in foul trouble. They had 10 at the half and we just had one. We knew their bench was not very deep,” Shaver said. “We got them in foul trouble and all of our guys came through. When you have a team that has five guys averaging in double figures it is hard to figure out who to stop. They couldn’t stop all five. We made the most of our stops,” Shaver added. Malachi Myles, a steady contributor during the year, was unable to play due to the flu.

The game turned in the first eight minutes, let’s look at how that happened.

In the opening four minutes the Wildcats jumped on the Panthers like a wolf on a pork chop.

Whisenhunt hit a free throw as did Turner. Midlothian made a traveling turnover and boom the Wildcats took off. Whisenhunt canned a triple from the left wing. Midlothian answered with a Williams bucket. Lynn connected with a 3-pointer and turned to the crowd, dominated by Wildcat faithful, with an “oooh” face and the rout was on. Lynn added a bucket off a steal, Turner completed a three-point play getting hacked in the act of scoring and sinking the following free throw. Now the score was 13-2.

Williams tried to keep the Panthers close with a 3-pointer. But Sulphur Springs closed out the first half with long range treys by Lynn and Alexander.

The first quarter ended with the Wildcats and their fans standing with a 19-5 advantage while the Panthers were gasping for air. The second quarter saw action slow a little, each team tossing in 11 points. But the Wildcats maintained momentum with a Haire dunk. The also sank eight free throws in the stanza. Midlothian could not get any consistent play, losing the battle on the scoreboard and on the court. Sulphur Springs dominated the boards and shot the ball well.

The first half ended with the Wildcats on fire leading 30-16. The third quarter saw Midlothian go to more pressure on the defense. After the Panthers scored off back-to-back steals by the Wildcats to cut the lead to 35-22, the Wildcats called a time out to regroup.

Turner asserted his power and size in the lane with a bucket. Haire got free for another powerful two-handed slam. Haire scored again on a putback in the lane. The Wildcats padded the lead to 50-27 as action shifted to the final period. Sulphur Springs going on a 15-5

run the final 4:25 of the third frame.

The fourth quarter saw the Wildcats outscore the Panthers 15-13 even with spreading the floor and running the clock. Sulphur Springs added reserves to the game and cruised to the 65-40 final.

Score by quarters

Sulphur Springs 19-11- 20-15-65

Midlothan 5-11-11-13- 45

Sulphur Springs - Branson Lynn, 10; Justin Haire, 13; Cason Arrington, 1; Caleb Alexander, 13; Parker Whisenhunt, 15; Kordrick Turner, 12.

Midlothian - Taylor Tobey, 4; Kelton Williams, 25; Calix Hampton, 6; Cooper Wyckoff, 3; Alexander Gilmore, 2.

3-point baskets - SS-Lynn, 2; Alexander, 2; Whisenhunt, 2; M Williams, 1; Wyckoff, 1.

Midlothian’s season ends as area finalist. They were second in district and beat Mesquite Poteet, 55- 53 in the bi-district game.

The Wildcats, now 28-9 and area champs, will take on Lufkin at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Wagstaff Gymnasium on the campus of Tyler Junior College.