W.T. White remained tied atop the District 13-5A boys basketball standings Tuesday by outlasting Hillcrest in overtime, 53-48.
The Longhorns improve to 5-0 in district with the win heading into Friday’s showdown against South Oak Cliff (5-0), while Hillcrest drops to 3-2 in district action.
WTW received a game-sealing block from Coby Sims and four points on free throws from Cameron Jones as it outscored Hillcrest in the extra period, 8-3, after the Panthers missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to close regulation.
Jones netted a team-high 17 points for WTW, while Hillcrest’s Derryck Gray scored a game-high 18.
“This was a rivalry game and a big one for us,” said Patrick Washington, WTW head coach. “We were able to secure it and we needed that. That’s a new coach over there (Jordon Adams) and he did a heck of a job and had them ready. They made shots and [Gray] was on fire, but we were able to slow him down just a tad bit in the second half.”
Jones, meanwhile, scored eight of his 17 points in the second quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers, as WTW used a 14-0 run to open the period after trailing at the end of the first quarter, 19-17.
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“Cam played his butt off tonight,” Washington said. “He’s been coming in the gym getting extra shots off and it showed. I told him if he keeps working on them and shows me he can knock them down, then he can shoot them. He’s been doing that and tonight I think he was 3-for-3.”
However, Hillcrest made a defensive surge of its own in the second half leading to a 38-38 deadlock heading to the final quarter.
Trey Williams scored two of his 14 points with a dunk to open the fourth for WTW, but neither team could gain a lead of more than two points until late in overtime.
That’s where Sims and the rest of the Longhorns upped the defensive intensity before ultimately sealing the win with rejections.
“We had five blocks in overtime and I think every player on the court had a block for us,” Washington said. “[Momar Diakhate] played exceptionally well down the stretch defensively and we always tell the kids offense can go to sleep, but defense travels and that’s what got the game for us.”
