The Olton Mustangs’ varsity basketball team came up just short against Farwell in the Wildcat Classic Championship last Wednesday, falling to the Steers, 54-49, at Wildcat Gym.
With the loss, the Mustangs finished the tournament, 3-1, on the week.
Braddock Foster opened the contest with a three from the right elbow, but Sebastian Sparkman responded with a three of his own from the left elbow, off of an assist from Matt Flores, tying the game, 3-3. With 4:50 remaining in the opening quarter, Ruben Molina went coast-to-coast for a lay-up for Farwell, but Zayden Falcon answered with a jumper from the left elbow for Olton to keep the game tied, 5-5.
With 1:20 to play in the first quarter, Chris Cabrera dropped in a lay-up on the left side, off of an assist from Brady Azam to put Olton in front, 7-5. With time winding down in the quarter, Hudson Agee knocked down a floater in the lane, but Sparkman answered, dishing a pass down court to Azam for a lay-up, as the Mustangs closed out the first quarter with a two-point lead over the Steers, 9-7.
Alex Green opened the second frame with a three from the left wing, off of an assist from Sparkman, but on the other end, Foster was fouled on an attempt by Sparkman, earning a trip to the line. He made oneof- two shots at the freethrow line to make the score, 12- 8. Azam responded with a jumper from the right wing, off of an assist from Sparkman and Cabrera followed it up with a lay-up off of an assist from Flores, pushing their lead to, 16-8, with 6:27 remaining in the half.
Tak Miller drained a three from the left corner, off of an assist from Foster, as the Steers began to mount a comeback. Agee followed it up with a jumper from the left wing, and Coy Miller scored a fast-break lay-up off of an Olton turnover to make it a one-point Olton lead, 16-15, as the Mustangs took a time out with 4:48 to play in the half.
Out of the break, Agee delivered a pass through traffic to Chris Reyes for a lay-up to put the Steers back in front, 17-16. With 2:38 to play in the half, Foster took a charge on Green, but the Mustangs would regain possession, as Sparkman knocked down a pull-up jumper in the lane to put Olton back on top, 1817.
Azam dropped in a putback off of a miss by Sparkman, drawing an andone foul on Coy Miller. He converted the free throw to push the Olton lead to, 2117, with 1:27 remaining in the half. On the other end, Tak Miller dropped in a bucket, drawing an and-one foul on Falcon. He converted the free throw to make it a one-point game, 21-20, and Tak Miller would close out the half with a three from the left elbow, off of the assist from Foster, as Farwell took a 2321, lead into the locker room at halftime.
Foster dropped in a layup to open the second half, drawing an and-one foul on Green, his third of the game. Foster converted the free throw, making the score, 2621. On their next possession, Ruben Molina split a pair of free throws, after being fouled by Azam, but Flores responded with a jumper from the right elbow, off of the assist from Sparkman, trimming the lead to, 27-23.
Foster drove the right side for a lay-up for Farwell, but on the other end, Sparkman drew a shooting foul on Agee, his third. Sparkman split the attempts at the line, making the score, 29-24, with under six minutes to play in the third. Foster knocked down a jumper from the free-throw line for Farwell, but Falcon answered with a jumper from the left wing, and on their next possession, Azam was fouled on an attempt by Coy Miller, his third of the game. Azam made oneof- two shots at the line, trimming the lead to, 31-27.
With 3:42 to play in the quarter, Flores banked in a floater from the right side, off of the outlet pass from Sparkman, but Floster responded with a fast-break lay-up to push the lead back out to, 33-29. Cabrera fired right back with a lay-up off of the assist from Flores, but the Steers, again, answered, as Foster drained a three from the right elbow, as Farwell took a time out with 2:40 to play in the game.
Out of the break, Foster knocked down a jumper in the lane for Farwell, but on the other end, Azam was fouled on an attempt by Molina, earning a trip to the line. He split the shots at the line to make the score, 3832, with under two minutes to play in the quarter.
Tak Miller drove the right side for a lay-up, but Azam answered with a put-back off of a miss by Green and Flores followed it up with a three from the left elbow, off of an assist from Sparkman to cut the lead to three points, 40-37. Coy Miller hit Reyes for a layup with under a minute to go in the quarter, but with time winding down, Azam was fouled on a rebound by Reyes, earning a trip to the line. He converted both shots to cut the lead to, 4239, going into the final quarter of play.
Agee opened the fourth quarter with a jumper from the left wing and Foster followed it up with a lay-up, but on the other end, Cabrera dropped in a putback off of a miss by Flores, drawing an and-one foul on Hunter Ruthardt. He converted the free throw to make it a four-point game, 46-42, with 5:10 remaining in the game.
Tak Miller took a charge on Sparkkman, his second foul of the game and with 3:24 to play, Reyes took a charge on Green, giving him his fourth foul of the contest. Green would foul out on the next play and Tak Miller followed it up with a fast-break lay-up, off of a turnover by Manny Carrasco, pushing their lead to, 48-42, with 2:46 to play in the game.
Olton took a time out with 2:04 to play, and out of the break, Agee was fouled on the floor by Falcon, his third. Agee made one- of- two shots at the line, pushing the lead to, 49-42. Flores converted a pair of free throws for Olton, after being fouled by Tak Miller, but with under a minute to play, Agee was fouled on the floor by Carrasco; he sank both shots at the line, stretching their lead to, 51-44.
Sparkman would answer with a three from the left elbow, as Olton called a quick time out to preserve the clock with 49 seconds remaining, trailing Farwell, 51-47. Out of the break, Foster split a pair of free throws after being fouled by Flores, but on the other end, Flores knocked down a free-throw line jumper to make it a three-point game, 52-49, as the Mustangs took a time out.
The teams returned to the floor, and Farwell took a time out to set up a play with 11.1 seconds to play. Agee was fouled out of the break, by Flores and converted both free throws, as Olton fell in the Wildcat Classic Championship to Farwell, 54-49.
The Mustangs were led by Azam, who netted 13 points. He was joined in double-figures scoring by Flores, who tallied 11 points. Sparkman and Cabrera each contributed nine points, while Falcon added four points and Green finished with three points in the contest.