Nobody could have blamed Texas High for feeling sunk.
Hallsville's Kameron Fitzpatrick buried a 55-footer at the final buzzer in the regulation to send Friday's District 16-5A showdown with the Tigers into overtime.
Incredibly, the Bobcats' answered prayer didn't phase the Tigers, who outscored Hallsville 7-1 in the four-minute extra period for a 64-58 victory.
"The final shot in regulation felt like someone had stuck a dagger in my heart," THS coach Keith Jones said. "There's nothing you can do about it. I'm so proud of how our kids showed their composure after that shot.
"The first thing the kids said was 'guys we've been here before.' We went to overtime in the Camden tournament championship game against Magnolia and won. I saw a positive look in the players' eyes. What a great way to end Senior Night."
The game's significance puts THS in third place, one game ahead of the Bobcats with only next Tuesday's game at Pine Tree left. Hallsville (21-10, 5-6) concludes its regular season at home against Sulphur Springs.
Trailing by six points at halftime, the Bobcats battled back behind the brilliant outside shooting of Blaine Parker, who swished three of his four treys in the third quarter. Hallsville rallied to capture the lead, but Caleb Wilson's only points of the game in the final second gave THS a 38-37 lead going into the fourth period.
The Tigers scored the first six points in the final quarter, with junior Tevailance Hunt scoring five of his team-high 16 points. Hunt also pulled down 10 rebounds as the Bengals outrebounded the taller Bobcats, 47-39.
Jeremy Swalley came off the bench to convert a pair of treys in the final quarter, leading up to Fitzpatrick's spectacular shot. Fitzpatrick scored a team-high 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
Texas High (16-9, 6-5) made only five of its first 13 free throws, but converted 11 in the fourth quarter and seven more in the extra period. Hampton and Vonderic Stanley accounted for 16 of those free throws.
Hallsville scored the game's first basket, but trailed the remainder of the opening half after back-to-back scores by Hunt and Lavon Brown.
Both teams appeared a bit jittery at the beginning with nobody scoring until the Bobcats' Matt Mowery grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. Mowery led all rebounders in the game with 13, but only scored eight points.
The game would be tied three times in the first quarter before Hampton swished a trey with 1:52 left, and then converted two free throws with 35 seconds left for an 11-8 advantage at the first break.
Twice the Tigers built eight-point cushions in the second quarter, settling for a 28-22 lead at intermission, with Hunt and Hampton accounting for 15 of their points.
Texas High's junior varsity remained unbeaten against jayvee competition by defeating Hallsville, 66-49. Jonathan Blair led the Tigers with 16 points. Jacoby Johnson scored 14, Elias Thurman 13 and Quechez Clark 10. Kolby Hogan tallied 13 for the Bobcats.
The Tigers' freshmen continued their winning streak by edging Hallsville, 68-64. Daveon Hawkins led THS with 22 points, with 6-foot-5 Cedric Kelly contributing 12. Carson Lindsay led the Bobcats with 18, and Austin Daniel added 17.
#
Hallsville 8 14 15 20 1 - 58
Texas High 11 17 10 19 7 - 64
HHS (58): Dawson 3 5-6 11, Timberlake 1 2-2 4, Swalley 3 0-0 9, Parker 4 0-0 12, Berg 0 0-1 0, Mowery 4 0-0 8, 6 1-2 14. TOTALS 21 8-11 58.
THS (64): Wilson 1 0-0 2, Stanley 2 6-8 10, Brown 4 3-6 11, Hampton 2 10-15 15, Drumm 2 0-0 4, Crump 2 2-2 6, Hunt 7 1-4 16. TOTALS 20 22-35 64.
3-point goals: HHS, Swalley 3, Parker 4, Fitzpatrick. THS, Hampton, Hunt. Team Fouls: Hallsville 23, Texas High 11.