The Cleburne Yellow Jackets were in control for three-and-a-half quarters against Waco High on Friday night at Yellow Jacket Gym, but the Lions outlasted the Jackets in the final minutes to come away with a 73-65 win.
Cleburne (3-22, 1-10 in 16-4A) had little trouble breaking Waco’s full-court pressure in the early going as the Jackets built an 11-6 lead before the Lions regrouped with a 10-4 run to close out the quarter.
Cleburne started the second period in similar fashion to the first quarter as Shyrod Anderson buried a 3-pointer, and Pete Black put in a basket to give the Jackets a 20-16 lead.
Cleburne maintained the lead, which grew to as large as seven at 32-25, all the way to halftime, when they held a 39-34 advantage.
The 24-point quarter signified Cleburne’s ability to find the gaps in the Lions’ defensive set, Cleburne head coach Greg Kudrna said.
“We’ve really been working on handling that pressure,” Kudrna said. “We attacked and had 39 points at halftime. That’s [almost on pace for 80 points] so we were really pushing the ball and attacking their pressure.
“Some people will tell you to slow them down, but they won’t let you because they trap everywhere.”
Two free throws by Chaston Cuffee stretched the lead to eight for Cleburne at 46-38 in the third quarter, but Waco began to chip away with a 13-5 run that was capped off by a 3-pointer towards the end of the period to tie the game at 51-51.
Cleburne went on an 8-4 run in the fourth to retake the lead, 59-55, off a basket from Michael Whitehead, but Waco put in six straight points to take the lead at 61-59.
Cuffee scored again to tie the game at 63-63, but Waco closed the period with a key 8-0 run that extended its advantage to 71-63.
In the end, Kudrna said the Jackets were outmanned by the Lions, who run 15 players compared with Cleburne’s eight.
It didn’t help matters that two of those Jackets had fouled out, Kudrna said.
“There was nobody left to sub,” Kudrna said with a laugh. “The last game started out in favor of them, 23-2, and in this game we led for most of the first quarter and were ahead at halftime, so it’s a total improvement.
“I’m really proud of the guys. I think right now our confidence is pretty good. We played pretty well against Ennis and lost that game on free throws.
“Really, in these last two games, we could’ve pulled them out.”
Basketball
Related Photos
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Cleburne’s Chaston Cuffee goes up for a shot during the Yellow Jackets’ 73-65 loss to Waco High on Friday night at Yellow Jacket Gym. David Beans/Special to the Times-Review
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Cleburne’s Cody Murphy rises up for a shot during the Yellow Jackets’ 73-65 loss to Waco High on Friday night at Yellow Jacket Gym. David Beans/Special to the Times-Review
Discussion
Lions pull away, 73-65
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