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ATWOOD (February 6) — An extremely
physical battle between district rivals
McKenzie and West Carroll was decided by
Rebel Derek Carr’s buzzer-beating
three-pointer. Carr hit a three-pointer that
was answered by a three from War Eagle
leading scorer Clint McClain to tie the game
at five points. Carr hit a field goal at the
3:03 mark to give the Rebs a 17-16 lead. War
Eagle Brandon Luther later drained a three
to take back the lead for his team 20-19,
though McKenzie would lead after one
quarter, 25-22.
The tug-of-war continued in the second
period with West Carroll battling back.
Clint McClain scored another three-pointer
and drove to the paint with a lay-up to tie
the game 31-31 with 4:55 left in the half.
Shooting a perfect ten of ten from the foul
line in the quarter, the War Eagles scored
thirty points in the quarter to take the
lead. A three-pointer from Rebel Shabree
Payne at the buzzer cut West Carroll’s lead
to 52-48 at the half.
McClain continued to shine for the War
Eagles, scoring eleven of the team’s
seventeen third quarter points. Despite
trailing by as many as fifteen points at one
time, McKenzie remained collected as Carr
added five more points during the Rebels’
10-0 run to trail 69-64 at the end of the
third period.
The final quarter started with Carr stealing
an inbound pass and draining his fourth
three-pointer to bring the Rebs within a
basket 69-67. Rebel Center Tyler Holt
contributed two consecutive buckets from the
paint to give McKenzie their first lead
since the middle of the second quarter,
71-69. West Carroll’s Thomas Greer ended the
Rebels’ seventeen-point run with a
three-point play on a hard-earned lay-up and
a foul shot conversion to give the Eagles
back the lead 72-71 with 5:56 left in the
game. After a game-tying bucket by Carr,
Greer drained a three for a 77-74 War Eagle
lead. At the 3:15 mark, with his team
leading 78-77, McKenzie’s Payne went down
holding his ankle and hobbled to the
sideline, but returned to action shortly
thereafter.
With tensions rising, McClain converted a
crucial three-point play, scoring a lay-up
and a free throw to give the lead back to
the War Eagles 82-80. With 1:13 remaining
Payne tied the game with a quick basket,
82-82. Both teams, obviously anxious, missed
vital opportunities. As fans on both sides
of the stands rose to their feet, McKenzie
had the ball on their side of the court with
three seconds remaining. With little room in
the paint, the Rebs passed to Carr at the
perimeter. Though well guarded, Carr nailed
his fifth three-pointer at the buzzer to
earn the Rebels a heart-pounding 85-82 Rebel
victory.
Scorers for West Carroll were: Clint McClain
(26), Xavier Cunningham (20, Thomas Greer
(16), Brandon Luther (5), Hayden McClain
(5), Justin Scruggs (4), Juelius Taylor (2),
Donovan Wolfe (2) and Troy Williams (2).
Scorers for McKenzie were: Derek Carr (23),
Shabree Payne (23), Tyler Holt (18), Hunter
Herron (15), Josh Brown (4) and Zach Hinson
(2).
Records are as follows: West Carroll 17-8;
McKenzie 10-12 |
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