The Olton Mustang’s varsity basketball team rolled past the host team Whitharral Panthers, 6947, on Saturday to take the tournament Championship.
With the win, the Mustangs improve to 11-2 overall on the year.
Johnathan Cooper dropped in a lay- up off of an assist from Sebastian Sparkman to open the contest and Sparkman followed it up with a steal on the defensive end, finishing off the play with a floater from the right wing to push their lead to, 4-0. Brady Azam knocked down a three from the left wing off of an assist from Sparkman to push their lead to, 70, but Whitharral responded, as Hudson Dobrovolny dropped in a lay-up and Jack Griffin followed it up with a three from the left elbow to slice the lead to, 7-5, with 5:34 left to play in the opening quarter.
Cooper dropped in a put-back off of a miss by Wyatt Nelson, but Dawson Rodgers answered with a three from the left elbow for the Panthers, cutting the lead to, 9-8, with just over five minutes to play in the first quarter. Rodgers buried another three for the Panthers to make it a one-point game, 9-8, but the Mustangs answered, as Nelson knocked down a jumper in the lane off of the assist from Sparkman and Alan Vasquez followed it up with a lay-up off of the assist from Cooper to push their lead back out to, 13-8.
Cooper kept it going with a putback off of a miss by Santi Jimenez, drawing an and- one foul on Dobrovolny. He missed the free throw leaving the score, 15-8. With just over three minutes left to play in the quarter, Vasquez was fouled on a put- back attempt by Dobrovolny; he split the attempts at the line to make it an eight-point game, 16-8.
Cooper was fouled on an attempt by Brolin Kennedy and sank both shots at the line and with 1:21 left to play in the first quarter, Copper dropped in a put-back off of his own miss to make it a 12-point Olton lead, 20-8. With just over a minute remaining in the opening quarter, Matt Flores was fouled on the floor by Brent Robinson; he converted both shots at the line to push the lead to, 22-8, but Robinson answered with a putback off of his own miss on the other end to make the score, 2210. Raymond Ramirez would split a pair of free throws to close out the first quarter for Olton, as they took a, 23-10, lead into quarter number two.
Damian Rodriguez buried a three from the top of the key off of the assist from Robinson to open the second frame, but Sparkman answered with a floater from the left side to make the score, 25-13. Cooper picked up a loose ball and dished it ahead to Azam, who dropped in the fast-break lay-up to stretch their lead to, 27-13, with 5:26 left to play in the half.
Griffin was fouled on an attempt by Nelson, his second; he sank both attempts at the line to trim the lead back to 12 points, but it was short-lived, as Sparkman knocked down a floater from the left side, making the score, 29-15, with 4:57 to play in the half. Nelson tipped an offensive rebound to Cooper, who dropped in a lay-up and Vasquez followed it up on the defensive end, taking a charge on Rodgers to regain possession for Olton with 2:47 left to play in the half.
Azam dropped in a put-back off his own miss, but Griffin responded with a lay-up for the Panthers to make the score, 33-17. Vasquez was fouled on an attempt by Robinson, his second. He split the attempts at the line to extend their lead to, 34-17. With just over a minute remaining in the half, Jimenez was fouled on an attempt by Damian Rodriguez and he too split the free throws, making the score, 35-17.
Cooper Burns split a pair of free throws for the Panthers, after Azam picked up his second foul of the game, but in the closing seconds, Jimenez buried a three from the right elbow off of the assist from Flores, pushing their lead to, 3818, going into the locker room at halftime.
Nelson opened the third quarter with an offensive rebound, as he passed it to Vasquez for a layup to open the third quarter for Olton. Sparkman hit Azam in transition for a lay-up, but on the next play Robinson used a pump fake on the elbow before dishing the ball down low to Dobrovolny for a lay-up, trimming the lead to, 4220.
Cooper answered with a lay-up, but the Panthers responded, as Griffin knocked down a jumper from the left wing, drawing an andone foul on Azam, his third. Griffin converted the free throw to cut the lead to, 44-23, with 5:31 left to play in the third. Sparkman forced a turnover on Rodgers, as he took it the other way for a fast-break layup and Zayden Falcon and Jimenez got out on the two-on-one break on the next play, as Falcon passed it to Jimenez, who gave it back to Falcon for the lay-up, making the score, 48-23.
Griffin split a pair of free throws for the Panthers, but on the other end, Jimenez was fouled on an attempt by Damian Rodriguez; he sank one-of-two free throws, making the score, 49-24. Flores drew a block on Daniel Rodriguez and split the attempts at the line to push their lead to, 50-24. Daniel Rodriguez and Burns would each convert a pair of free throws to trim the lead to, 50-28, going under a minute to play in the third quarter.
Griffin was fouled on an attempt by Jimenez his fourth; he made one-of-two shots from the line to trim the lead to, 50-29. Falcons was fouled by Griffin with under a minute to play and converted both shots at the line to stretch the lead to, 52-29. In the closing seconds of the quarter, Sparkman hit a cutting Cooper for a lay-up to push their lead to, 54-29, heading into the final quarter of play.
Robinson dropped in back-toback lay-ups off of assists from Rodgers and Kennedy to opent he fourth quarter, but on the other end, Vasquez was fouled on an attempt by Rodgers, his second. Vasquez split the attempts at the line and the Panthers responded, as Robinson dropped in a floater in the lane and Kennedy drained a three from the right wing, making the score, 55-38, with 6:11 left to play in the game.
Sparkman knocked down a fade-away jumper in the lane, but on the other end, Dobrovolny was fouled on an attempt by Ramirez. He made one-of-two shots from the line, but Cooper answered with a lay-up off of the assist from Nelson and Sparkman followed it up with a three from the top of the key, extending their lead back out to, 62-39, with 4:01 remaining in the game.
Vasquez kept the scoring run going with a floater in the lane, drawing an and- one foul on Damian Rodriguez, his third. He converted the free throw to push the lead to, 65- 39. Damian Rodriguez drained a three from the left wing off of the assist from Griffin and Robinson picked up a steal from Azam, taking it the other way for a lay-up to trim the lead to, 6544.
Sparkman would respond, driving the lane and kicking it out to Falcon, who drained the three from the left wing and with time winding down in the contest, Vasquez was fouled on the floor and made one-of-two shots from the line to make the score, 69-44. Daniel Rodriguez dropped in a fast-break lay-up, drawing andone foul on Vasquez, who fouled out of the contest. The free throw was good, as Olton went on to take the contest, 69-47.
The Mustangs were led by Cooper who poured in 18 points and Sparkman, who finished with 13 points. Vasquez and Azam each tallied nine points, while Falcon chipped in seven points and Jimenez contributed five points. Flores added three points and Nelson finished with two points in the contest.
The Mustangs hosted the Plains Cowboys on Tuesday. Results were not available at press time. They will host Patton Springs on Friday.
Tip-off is scheduled for 2:15 p.m.