Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Buccaneers come apart late, lose to Austin Crockett in OT

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Saturday, December 11, 1999

Buccaneers come apart late, lose to Austin Crockett in OT
After 11 victories, Miller suffers first defeat of season in overtime of Pride of Texas tournament semifinals
By Stu Duncan
Caller-Times

George Tuley/Caller-Times

Miller's Tucker Pierson (center) drives between Austin Crockett defenders Adrian Mayes (left) and Chase Poole Friday night in the Buccaneers' loss.

Miller High School boys basketball coach Kevin Wall didn't envision his team going undefeated this season. He did see the Buccaneers executing from the floor better than they did during their quarterfinal matchup with Austin Crocket Friday night during the 15th annual Wendy's Pride of Texas Basketball Tournament.
   Miller rebounded from an eight-point second period deficit to take a 42-36 lead in the final four minutes of the game. Poor free throw shooting, clutch shooting by the Cougars and a lack of execution on Miller's part cost the Bucs (11-1) their undefeated season, however, as Austin Crockett (8-2) advanced to the semifinals with a 55-50 overtime victory.
   "We just played bad," said Wall, whose team made 12 of 23 free throws in the game. "We haven't (played bad) all year but it was going to happen sooner or later.
   "This was about our eighth game in 11 days," Wall added. "We played like we were tired but I don't know if we were or not. We shot the ball (poorly) from the free throw line. We had every opportunity to win. We get point-blank shots in the lane and just come up a little short and we made some mistakes defensively that we haven't made all year.''
   The Bucs appeared to gain the advantage when Crockett's 6-foot-7 center Chase Poole fouled out with 2:03 remaining in regulation. Miller couldn't take advantage.
   "I thought we were done," Austin Crockett boys basketball coach Rick Kirkpatrick said of when his big man committed his fifth foul. "I thought it was over right there but the kids came through off the bench and did a great job.
   "Our goal was to get to the finals (of the tournament)," Kirkpatrick added. "We've had some big wins recently and we're trying to get it going in the right direction. That was a huge win for us in terms of where we're headed this year."
   Crockett scored the first four points of overtime on consecutive baskets by Adrian Hayes.
   Miller guard Julius Rice answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to close within 51-50 with 2:23 to play.
   The Bucs' Willie Nickels had an opportunity to put Miller in the lead in the final minute but he missed two free throws.
   On the next possession, Crockett's Jerry Haywood turned toward the baseline and banked in a short runner to give the Cougars a 53-50 edge.
   Miller had two opportunities to tie in the final 30 seconds but couldn't convert. The Bucs couldn't get a shot off on the first chance, as they turned the ball over by throwing it out of bounds. On the second opportunity, Nickels fired a long 3-pointer from the top of the key but the shot was too strong and bounced harmlessly off the rim.
   The Cougars rebounded and Eli Anderson made two free throws with three seconds to play to seal the five-point victory.
   "That's a nice squad," Wall said of the Cougars. "There's no shame in losing to that team. I'm just disappointed that we didn't shoot the ball better. We kind of gave it away there at the free throw line."
   Miller center Tucker Pierson had nine of his team-high 13 points in the first half, while his teammates Larry Porter (who scored 12 points) and Julius Rice (11 points) combined for 16 points in the second half. Guard Anthony Arellano, Poole and Haywood scored 13, 13 and 12 points respectively to pace the Cougars.
   Trailing by one point in the third quarter, the Bucs took a 24-23 lead on Aaron Franklin's jumper that bounced off the rim before going in. Mike Ortiz's 3-pointer from the right wing started an 8-0 Crockett run, before Miller countered with eight straight points.
   Pierson's layup started the spurt, Jamaal Lucas drained a 3-pointer for the left wing and Porter weaved his way into the lane to score and was fouled. Porter made the free throw to tie the game at 34 with 2:39 to play in the third quarter. The teams would remain within a point of each other until the fourth quarter.
   Poole missed a fast-break dunk opportunity and Rice pulled up and buried a free throw line jumper to help the Bucs reclaim the lead, 37-36. Pierson's driving baseline layup, a free throw from Lucas and Porter's knifing layin gave Miller its biggest lead, 42-36 with three minutes, 53 seconds remaining.
   Poole scored five straight points - including a two-handed dunk - to pull the Cougars within 42-41.
   Porter made two free throws to boost the lead to 44-41, but Haywood's trey from the right corner with 1:24 to play tied the score again at 44.
   With 41 seconds left, Lucas converted on 1 of 2 free throws to give the Bucs a one point advantage, but Cameron Slown's 3-pointer from the right corner gave the Cougars a 47-45 lead with 20 seconds to go.
   Rice tied the game on a pair of free throws with 11 seconds remaining and had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation. Porter stole the ball and passed to Rice, but his desperation 3-pointer bounced off the rim, sending the game into the 4-minute overtime.
   Miller didn't hold a lead in the game until the second quarter, when Pierson's driving layup gave the Bucs a 10-9 advantage just 20 seconds into the quarter.
   Hayes grabbed an offensive rebound on the next possession and scored to give the Cougars an 11-10 advantage. Though the Bucs would pull even three times, the Cougars managed to take a 23-22 lead into halftime.
   CROCKETT 9 14 11 13-8-55
   MILLER 8 14 12 13-3-50
   CROCKETT - Chase Poole 13, Cameron Slown 8, Mike Ortiz 8, Jerry Haywood 12, Eli Anderson 5, Adrian Hayes 9.
   MILLER - Julius Rice 11, Willie Nickels 2, Aaron Franklin 4, Jamaal Lucas 6, Jacoby Smith 2, Larry Porter 12, Tucker Pierson 13.
   3 pointers - Crockett Slown 2, Haywood 2, Ortiz 1 . Miller Rice 1, Lucas 1. Records - Austin Crockett 8-2. Miller 11-1.

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