The Littlefield Wildcats’ varsity basketball team clashed with the Olton Mustangs in the second round of the Wildcat Classic last Friday, where the Wildcats advanced to the Championship game with a, 55-45, victory.
Johnathan Cooper opened the contest with a jumper from the left elbow and followed it up with a three from the right wing, off of the assist from Sebastian Sparkman, giving the Mustangs a, 5-0, lead to begin the contest. Littlefield took a time out with 5:41 to play in the opening quarter, and out of the break, Jayden Barrio was fouled on an attempt by Nelson. He converted both shots from the line to get the Wildcats on the board, but Cooper answered with a jumper in the lane to push the Olton lead to, 7-2, with just under five minutes to play in the first quarter.
Kam McCarty drove the lane, kicking it out to Chip Green on the right elbow, as he buried a three to cut the lead to, 7-5. On their next possession, McCarty was fouled on an attempt by Sparkman and made one-of-two shots from the line to make it a one-point game, 7-6. With 2:28 to play in the quarter, Barrio dropped in a lay-up off of a steal in their own end, but on the other end, Sparkman grabbed an offensive rebound and dropped in a put-back to put Olton back in front, 9-8.
Ryan Williams drained a three from the right elbow off of the assist from McCarty, but with under a minute to go in the quarter, Sparkman grabbed another offensive rebound and put it back up for two off of a miss by Santi Jimenez, tying the game, 11-11, as the first quarter came to a close.
McCarty opened the second frame with a step-back jumper on the right wing, but Sparkman answered with a three to keep the Mustangs in front, 14-13. Green answered with a three from the left elbow and on the next play, McCarty was fouled on an attempt by Cooper. He made one-of-two shots from the line, making the score, 17-14, in favor of Littlefield, as the Mustangs took a time out with 4:15 to play in the half.
Out of the break, Cooper knocked down a jumper from the right elbow and on their next possession, Brady Azam was fouled on a put-back attempt by Nate Castaneda, earning a trip to the line. He split the free throws to tie the game, 17-17, with 3:11 remaining in the half. Williams drove the left side for a lay-up, but Cooper answered on the other end with a put-back off of a miss by Azam, keeping the game knotted up, 1919.
With just over two minutes remaining in the first half, Alan Vasquez was fouled on a put-back attempt by Castaneda, his second. Vasquez made one-of-two shots from the line, but on the other end, Sammy Saenz grabbed an offensive rebound and went back up for a lay-up to make the score, 2120. Azam dropped in a lay-up off of an assist from Cooper, but Williams answered with a drive to the basket for a lay-up to keep them in front, 23-22.
Barrio picked up a steal and took it all the way in for a lay-up to close out the first half with the Wildcats in front, 25-22.
Cooper was fouled on an attempt by Castaneda to open the second half. He converted one-oftwo shots from the line and on their next possession, he was fouled again, this time by Williams. He made the first shot and missed the second, but the ball went out of bounds off of Littlefield to give the Mustangs an extra possession. Wyatt Nelson dished the ball down low to Cooper, who dropped in a lay-up to regain the lead for Olton, 26-25.
McCarty knocked down a stepback from the left elbow over Nelson, but on the other end, Nelson again got the ball down low to Cooper, who finished with a lay-up to keep Olton in front, 2827, as Littlefield took a time out with 4:22 to play in the third quarter. Out of the break, Williams drove the lane for a lay-up, but Matt Flores answered with a jumper in the lane, off of the assist from Sparkman, making the score, 30-29, with 1:27 left to play in the third quarter.
Williams and Vasquez exchanged put-backs to close out the third quarter with Olton in front, 32-31.
McCarty hit a cutting Barrio for a reverse lay-up to open the final frame, but Ramirez drained a three from the left wing to keep the Mustangs on top, 35-33. Williams answered with a three from the left elbow, but Sparkman came right back on the other end and buried a three from the right elbow off of the assist from Ramirez, making the score, 38-36.
Williams knocked down a three from the left elbow, but Vasquez responded with a three of his own from the left elbow off of the assist from Ramirez, making the score, 41-39, with 5:32 remaining in the contest. Williams was fouled on an attempt by Nelson, his fourth. He made the first and missed the second, but Castaneda was there for the offensive rebound, which led to a three from Williams, putting the Wildcats back in front, 43-41.
Cooper dropped in a put-back off of a miss by Sparkman to tie the game, as Olton called a time out to talk things over with 3:19 to play. Out of the break, McCarty drove the left side for a lay-up, drawing an and- one foul on Vasquez, his third. The free throw was good, pushing their lead to, 46-43, with just over three minutes to play in the half.
With 1:42 left to play, Barrio drained a three from the right elbow off of an assist from Green, pushing their lead to, 49-43, as Olton took a time out with 1:36 to play in the game. Out of the break, Cooper dropped in a jump-hook from the left elbow off of the assist from Vasquez, but on the other end, Williams was fouled on the floor by Vasquez, his fourth. Williams sank both free throws and on the next play, Green picked up a steal and was fouled intentionally by Sparkman with 1:06 left to play in the game. Green split the attempts at the line, making the score, 52-45.
McCarty split a pair of free throws and Green knocked down a pair to close out the game, as Littlefield took down Olton, 55-45.
The Wildcats were led by Williams, who netted 23 points, to go along with four rebounds, while Barrio chipped in 11 points, four rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block, and McCarty contributed 10 points, six assists, four rebounds and one block.
Green added nine points, four steals, two rebounds and one assist, while Saenz finished with two points and one rebound.
Olton was led by Cooper, who finished with 21 points, five rebounds and one assist, and Sparkman, who tallied 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Vasquez contributed six points, nine rebounds and three assists, while Ramirez tallied three points, four rebounds and three assists.
Azam added three points and three rebounds and Flores finished with two points in the contest.