By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Foul trouble and two long scoreless stretches foiled the Shawnee Heights boys’ attempt at a comeback win over De Soto Tuesday at Shawnee Heights. The T-Birds fell to the Wildcats, 51-50.
Ken Darting's Shawnee Heights boys came up just short in Tuesday's comeback bid, falling 51-50 to De Soto. [File photo/TSN]
Shuffling due to foul trouble and going to young, inexperienced players, coach Ken Darting nearly led the T-Birds to a come-from-behind win. But a last-second desperation shot produced by wild full-court pressure came up just short.
“It was a great game between two pretty good teams. But we were always playing uphill,” Darting said. “We did a poor job of getting the right people shooting. We got back in the game with defense, but then we became a 3-point shooting team instead of getting the ball in.”
Shawnee Heights trailed by just one point, 34-33, at halftime. But the T-Birds did not score for the first four minutes of the third period. After a five-point T-Bird run tied the game at 38-38, Shawnee Heights went back into a funk. They went another six minutes – three minutes into the fourth period – without scoring.
The T-Birds trailed 47-38 with five minutes remaining in the game. They cranked up the full-court pressure and came roaring back, outscoring the visitors 9-2 over the next three minutes. Freshman Quincy Dixon dropped a 3-pointer to cut the Wildcat lead to 49-47 with 2:10 left. Then Aiden Scott tied the game at 50-50 with a 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining.
But the T-Birds were unable to capitalize on the momentum. They fouled Wildcat senior Brayan Salas with 15 seconds left. He hit one of his two foul attempts, leaving the T-Birds to scramble for a final shot. A designed play failed. Shawnee Heights recovered a loose ball but a desperate heave at the buzzer just missed.
“We had two or three opportunities to take the lead, make them have to make the decision. We just about pulled it off,” Darting said.
Leading the T-Birds was Cam Ross with 12 points, followed by Dixon’s 11. Starters Scott, Ja’Veon Alston and Dae’Veon Cook each scored eight points apiece.
Pacing the Wildcats was Salas, who hit 5-9 field goal attempts, including four 3-pointers.
De Soto’s starting five was a mixed bag, but the Wildcats got key buckets from their reserves. Players off the De Soto bench hit 4-7 shots and 6-8 free throws to contribute 17 points. Darting got good effort from his reserves, but just three points.
“Our margin of error is small, and until we get everybody going in the right direction, we’re gonna keep coming up short,” Darting said. “We’re going to be in every game, but against the top echelon, it’s gonna be like this.”
DE SOTO BOYS 51, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 50
De Soto 24 10 9 8 -- 51
Shawnee Heights 17 16 5 12 -- 50
De Soto (3-3, 1-2) – Patterson 2-10 0-0 4, Dickerson 2-10 3-4 7, Morayah 1-1 0-0 2, Waite 2-6 1-3 5, Salas 5-9 2-4 16, Krier 0-1 2-2 2, Rapp 1-2 0-0 3, Brady 1-2 4-6 7, Morton 2-2 0-0 5. Totals: 16-43 12-19 51.
Shawnee Heights (3-4, 2-3) – Alston 3-6 2-2 8, Cook 3-8 1-2 8, Ross 4-16 4-6 12, Scott 3-5 0-0 8, Dixon 5-8 0-1 11, Becker 1-2 1-2 3, Terrell 0-1 0-0 0, Vega 0-0 0-0 0, Lee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-46 8-13 50.
3-point goals – De Soto 7 (Salas 4, Rapp 1, Brady 1, Morton 1), Shawnee Heights 4 (Scott 2, Cook 1, Dixon 1). Total fouls – De Soto 15, Shawnee Heights 23. Fouled out – Scott. Technical fouls – Alston.
