The Olton Mustangs’ varsity basketball team had their season come to an end on Tuesday, as they fell to the Reagan County Owls, 49-47, in the Class 2A- DI Regional Semi- Finals at Lamesa High School.
With the loss, the Mustangs finish the season with a mark of 27- 5 overall on the year.
Jarrett Brown dropped in a put-back off of a miss by Bryce Bates to open the contest for the Owls, and Leevi Knight buried a three from the left elbow to stretch their lead to, 50. Kason Brown kept it going with a lay- up in transition, but Johnathan Cooper would answer with a baby- hook shot in the lane to get the Mustangs on the board.
With just under five minutes to play in the opening quarter, Jarrett Brown was fouled on an attempt, earning a trip to the free- throw line. He converted one-of-two shots from the line, making the score, 8-2. Cooper drove the right side for a layup on the other end and Sebastian Sparkman and Allen Vasquez forced a turnover on their end of the floor that resulted in a floater from Sparkman in the lane to make it a one- possession game, 8- 6.
With just over four minutes to play in the first quarter, Sparkman picked up a steal, dishing it ahead to Brady Azam on the fast- break for a lay- up, tying the game, 8- 8. Kason Brown was fouled on an attempt and made one- of- two shots at the line and followed it up with a lay- up to give the Owls a three- point advantage, 11-8.
But, Olton would answer, as Sparkman picked up a steal, finishing in the paint with a floater in traffic to make it a one- point Owl’s lead, 11- 10. With under two minutes to play in the quarter, Azam buried a three from the left corner off of the assist from Sparkman to give Olton the lead to, 13- 11, as Reagan County took a time out with 1:35 to play in the first quarter.
Out of the break, Sparkman drove the left side for a lay- up and followed it up with a three from the top of the key to close out the first quarter with the Mustangs in front, 18- 11.
Reagan County would open the second frame with a layup from Kason Brown off of an Olton turnover, but on the other end, Raymond Ramirez would drop in a lay- up, drawing an and- one foul on Jarrett Brown. He missed the free throw, leaving the score, 20-13, with 7:20 left to play in the first half.
Sparkman drained a three from the left elbow off of an assist from Ramirez, but Knight responded with a three from the top of the key on the other end for the Owls, trimming the Mustang lead to, 23- 16. Cooper pump-faked under the basket before dropping in a layup off of the assist from Matt Flores, but the Owls would respond again, as Jarrett Brown sank a three from the left elbow to cut the lead to, 25- 19, as they took a time out with 4:41 remaining in the half.
Out of the break, Jarrett Brown ran the court taking it in on the left side for a lay- up to make it a four- point game, 25-21. Sparkman answered with a drive and dish to Cooper for a lay- up, but the Owls came right back on the other end, as Jarrett Brown was fouled on a three- point attempt by Ramirez. He made one-of-three attempts at the line, trimming the lead to, 27- 22.
Reagan County would close out the first half on a, 7-2, scoring run, as Olton led by just one point, 29-28, going into the locker room at halftime.
Cooper was fouled on a putback attempt by Caison Graves to open the second half. He made one- of- two free throws to push their lead to, 30- 28. Ramirez followed it up with a three from the right elbow off of the assist from Sparkman, but the Owls answered, as Kason Brown used a euro step to get to the basket for a layup, cutting the lead to, 33- 30, with 5: 47 left to play in the third quarter.
Olton took a time out and out of the break, Sparkman missed a close range shot, but grabbed a steal under their own basket passing it off to Cooper for a lay-up to make the score, 35-30. Kason Brown and Jarrett Brown would score back- to- back lay- ups for the Owls to slice the lead to, 3534, with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter.
Sparkman would bury a three from the left elbow, making the score, 38- 34. Two plays later, Kason Brown hit Knight in transition for a lay- up to make it a one-possession Olton lead, 38- 36, as the Mustangs took a time out with 2: 11 left to play in the third quarter. Out of the break, Kason Brown was called for a charge and the Mustangs capitalized on the turnover, as Sparkman grabbed a steal, drawing a shooting foul on Nicholas Franklin. He made one-of-two shots from the line, making the score, 39-36.
With 14.9 seconds to play in the quarter, Jarrett Brown dropped in a lay- up, drawing an and- one foul on Wyatt Nelson. He converted the free throw to tie the game, but with time winding down in the quarter, Sparkman knocked down a jumper from the right wing to put the Mustangs in front, 4139, going into the final quarter of play.
The Owls would open the fourth quarter on a, 6- 0, scoring run, before Sparkman was fouled on an attempt by Knight with 2:38 to play in the game. He converted both free throws to trim the Reagan County lead to two points, 4543. With 1:18 to play, Vasquez dropped in a lay- up to tie the game, as Reagan County quickly called a time out to talk things over.
Out of the break, Kason Brown drained a three from the right wing to give the Owls a three- point lead, 48- 45. Sparkman was fouled on a three- point attempt with 7.4 seconds to play in the game, earning a trip to the line. He missed the first attempt, but came back to make the next two free throws, cutting the lead to, 48-47. Jarrett Brown was fouled on the floor by Sparkman to preserve the clock with five seconds left. He made one- oftwo shots, as Reagan County went on to defeat Olton, 4947.
The Mustangs were led by Sparkman, who netted 22 points. Cooper tallied 11 points, while Azam and Ramirez each chipped in five points and Vasquez finished with four points in the contest.