The Olton Mustangs’ varsity basketball team won a thriller over Dumas in the Wildcat Classic Semi-Finals, 57-50, to advance to the Championship game.
With the win, the Mustangs improved to 3-0 in tournament play on the week.
Blake Robinson grabbed the opening tip- off and threw down a slam dunk to open the contest for Dumas, but Alex Green answered with a three from the right elbow to put Olton in front, 3-2. With 5:46 to play in the opening quarter, Sebastian Sparkman poked the ball away, as it was picked up by Brady Azam, who threw it out in front to Sparkman, who finished the play with a lay-up on the fast-break, stretching their lead to, 5-2.
Brice Garcia dropped in back-to-back lay-ups for Dumas to regain the lead for the Demons, as Olton took a time out with 4:17 to go in the first quarter, trailing 65. Out of the break, Sparkman drove the right side for a lay-up, but Dumas answered, as Jonas Joseph dropped in a lay-up off of the assist from Bryce White, put the Demons back in front, 8-7, with 2:40 remaining in the first quarter.
Matt Flores dropped in a floater in the lane for Olton, but White answered with a jumper from the left elbow for Dumas, making the score, 10- 9. Sparkman would draw a shooting foul on White, and he would convert one-of-two shots at the line to tie the game, 1010. In the closing seconds of the quarter, Sparkman drained a pull-up three from the left elbow, putting Olton in front, 13-10, as the first quarter came to a close.
Sparkman opened the second frame with a jumper in the lane, drawing an and-one foul on Haziel Lozoya. He converted the free throw to stretch the Mustangs lead to, 16-10, with 7:47 to play in the first half. Dumas would get hot as Kelton Dill dropped in a lay-up in transition off of an assist from Luis Balbuena, sparking a, 9-0, scoring run, that ended when Sparkman dropped in a floater from the left elbow to trim the Dumas lead to, 19-18, with 5:46 to play in the half.
Balbuena dropped in a lay-up off of an assist from Garcia and Axcel Loya hit Balbuena in transition, who finished the play with a reverse lay-up, as Olton took a time out with 4:38 remaining in the half, trailing, 2318.
Out of the break, White scored on a fast-break and Loya followed it up with a lay-up to push their lead to, 27-18, with 2:24 to go in the half., Garcia was fouled on an attempt by Manny Carrasco and converted both shots at the line to push the lead to double-digits for Dumas, but Chris Cabrera dropped in a put-back off of his own miss to end the scoring drought for Olton, with under two minutes to play in the half.
Dill and Joseph scored back-to-back buckets for the Demons, but with time winding down in the half, Sparkman took a charge on Dill and followed it up with a fade-away jumper from the right elbow to beat the buzzer, making the score, 31-24, going to the locker room at halftime.
Flores opened the second half with a jumper from the left elbow, but on the other end, Garcia was fouled on an attempt by Azam. He missed both shots at the line, but Loya was there for the put-back, making the score, 33- 26. Green hit Flores in transition for a layup, as Dumas took a time out with 6:13 to play in the third and their lead cut to, 33-28.
With 5:33 to play in the quarter, Loya was fouled on an attempt by Azam, his second. He split the shots at the line, and Cabrera answered on the other end with a dish to Azam for a lay-up, trimming the lead to, 34-30. Sparkman grabbed an offensive rebound off of a miss by Green and dished it to Flores, who buried a three from the left elbow, slicing the lead to one point, 34-33, with 3:39 to play in the quarter.
Green was fouled on the floor by White, his second. Green split the attempts at the line to tie the game, 3434, but on the other end, Loya was fouled on an attempt by Azam, his third of the game. He made one-oftwo shots at the line, but Cabrera responded with a put-back off of a miss by Green on a third-chance try to put Olton back in front, 36-35.
Dumas turned the ball over with 41.2 seconds to play in the third, and in the closing seconds of the quarter, Sparkman banked in a jumper from the right elbow to give Olton a, 38-35, lead going into the final quarter of play.
Azam opened the fourth quarter with a lay-up for Olton, and on their next possession, Zayden Falcon buried a three from the right side to push their lead to, 43-35, as the Mustangs took a time out with 5:19 to play in the game. Out of the break, Joseph picked up a steal and took it to the hoop for a quick lay-up, making the score, 43-37, with just over five minutes to play in the game.
Flores drove the left side for a lay-up off of an assist from Green, but Joseph responded with a bucket to trim the lead to, 45-39, with 4:23 to play. Sparkman knocked down a jumper and Green followed it up with a lay-up to extend their lead to 10 points, before Flores was fouled on an attempt by Loya, his third. He made one-of-two shots at the line, as Dumas took a time out with 3:11 to play, trailing Olton, 50-39.
Out of the break, Green drove the lane, dumping the ball off to Cabrera for a layup, but on the other end, Loya was fouled on an attempt by Cabrera, his third. Loya split the attempts at the line to make the score, 52-40, with 2:33 to play in the game. The Demons forced a five-second call on the inbound play to regain possession and Chris Jimenez drained a three from the right elbow to cut the lead to single-digits, 5243.
Dumas took a time out with 2:30 to play, and out of the break, Sparkman drove the lane, dumping the ball off to Cabrera for a lay-up to make the score, 54-43. On the other end, Robinson was fouled on an attempt by Green and split the attempts at the line to make it a 10-point game, 54-44.
Azam was fouled on a put-back attempt by Garcia and he converted both shots at the line, but Garcia responded with a lay-up on the other end to make the score, 56-46. Olton took a time out with 50.9 seconds to play to prevent a backcourt call, and out of the break, Dill dropped in a put-back off of a miss by Robinson, trimming the lead to, 56-48.
Sparkman split a pair of free throws after being fouled by Lozoya, and Robinson dropped in a layup to close out the game, as Olton took the contest, 57-50.
Sparkman led the Mustangs in scoring with 20 points, and he was joined in double-figures scoring by Flores, who tallied 12 points. Cabrera chipped in eight points, while Azam and Green each added six points, and Falcon finished with three points in the contest.