Central High boys outlast defending Class A champion Tushka in three-overtime thriller
By Glen Brockenbush
GERONIMO - It was another manic day at the Geronimo Dome.
After all four of Thursday’s games at the Class A regional held in Geronimo were decided by single-digits, fans were treated to another quartet of nail-biters, capped by an instant classic in the late game.
The Central High boys fought through early foul trouble to their senior star Jace Waller, and forced overtime against defending state champion Tushka in a Friday elimination game.
The game went into a second overtime - and eventually a third. Finally, Waller and the Bronchos were able to stave off the Tigers for an 84-75 victory.
Meanwhile, the home fans saw their Geronimo girls get ousted from the playoffs by Empire for a third consecutive year, dropping a closely fought game, 48-42.
Hydro-Eakly’s girls stayed alive by surviving a scare from Rock Creek, 40-38. The Rock Creek boys were sent home as well, falling to Carnegie, 52-48.
Central High 84, Tushka 75 (boys consolation)
The usual suspects were the culprits for each team.
Just as he had all season, Tushka’s Tagen Simon provided the spark, leading the charge as scorer and playmaker. Meanwhile, the Bronchos relied heavily on their four senior starters, especially Jace Waller.
However, Waller got in early foul trouble, giving Central coach Kenny McGough flashbacks from the previous night, when his team was on the heels of No. 1 Caddo before Waller had similar issues.
“Going back to (Thursday) night, he fouled out, and we were down by two to the No. 1 team and he fouls out,” McGough said. “He’s our catalyst, he’s our leader, on and off the floor. If he has to go to the bench, he’ll do it, and he’s everybody’s biggest fan.”
But the Bronchos got help from the other seniors. Levi Young hit an early 3-pointer, Caden Covington sank a triple in each quarter of regulation and Kolten Bethune was a rebounding machine who finished the game with four blocks in the second half and overtime periods alone.
Down by three with about a minute left, Simon took control of a poor inbounds pass by Central, went up the floor, made a contested shot and was fouled. The ensuing free throw was good, tying the game at 55.
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Tushka led by two with under a minute left in overtime when a bad pass by the Bronchos went out of bounds, turning the ball over to the Tigers. But when Simon stepped out of bounds 20 seconds later, Central got the ball back with a chance to tie or lead.
Luke Thrasher was fouled with 19 seconds left and hit both free throws to tie the game back up. Simon’s game-winner attempt was blocked, sending the game into another extra session.
A basket by Simon made it a four-point Tushka lead, and the following CHS possession ended with a blocked shot. After Mason Hill hit two free throws to extend the lead to five, Waller hit a 3-pointer for the Bronchos to make it 71-69 with 27.2 seconds remaining.
Simon was fouled and hit his first free throw but missed the second. Central moved up court, where Waller drove to the bucket and sunk a lay-in while getting fouled. He sank the ensuing free throw to tie the game one more time.
In the third overtime, Central kept feeding Waller inside. And even when he couldn’t make a basket, he headed to the free-throw line, where he was a staggering 20-of-21 on the night.
A few defensive stops were enough for the Bronchos to hold off the defending state champions.
Waller finished with 38 points, while Thrasher, a freshman, had 17. Even in the loss, Simon finished with a game-high 44 points.
“I knew we had to keep (Simon) out of the paint to have a chance. But we didn’t keep him out of the paint,” McGough said. “But we just made one more play down the stretch.
"That’s a defending state champion, and these boys played like they were playing a defending state champion.”
Empire 48, Geronimo 42 (girls consolation)
Geronimo ended the third quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers by Chrissa Gomez and Kailee Latimer to enter the final period up 33-29. But the final quarter would be nip-and-tuck between the two.
Empire took a 43-42 lead with 2:45 left after two Dani Kowalik free throws. Geronimo’s Brooke Bolling missed a potential tying free throw, Gomez missed a runner and the Lady Bulldogs were able to make free throws late to seal it.
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“I thought we played pretty good, played well on their big girl inside (Mia Curtis),” Geronimo coach Bryce Abbe said. “We just needed to hit one or two more shots there at the end and we wouldn’t have had to foul.”
Curtis had 16 points for the Lady Bulldogs, while KK Smith added 14. Gomez finished with 16 for the Lady Jays.
Carnegie 52, Rock Creek 48 (boys consolation)
Rock Creek led Carnegie by four with five minutes and change left in the game. But Jagger Worley and the Wildcats were not to be denied.
The senior began by heaving a 3-pointer that bounced three times on the rim before it fell. Shortly thereafter, he rebounded a Jalen Wallace miss and put it back in for the go-ahead bucket.
On the following possession, Wallace hit two free throws to make it 51-48.
After trailing 46-42 at the end of three quarters, Carnegie outscored Rock Creek 10-2 in the final frame, holding the Mustangs without a field goal.
Worley finished the game with 27 points to send Carnegie into the consolation finals against Central High on Saturday.
Hydro-Eakly 40, Rock Creek 38 (girls consolation)
The Lady Cats saw their lead swell to 11 with two minutes to go in the first half. But the Lady Mustangs fought back, eventually tying the game at 38 via a basket by Kellee Williams with 1:45 left.
Rock Creek, however, missed opportunities to seize the game when Williams missed a one-and-one foul shot, and a 3-point attempt soon after was off the mark. The missed 3 was rebounded by the Lady Cats’ Dillyn Coe, who found Tessa York wide-open for the eventual game-winner with 1:22 left.
York finished with 10 points, while Coe had all 11 of hers in the first quarter.
