GLADEWATER, Texas-It was a heartbreaker.
Trevanta Royal sped down court and jumped up for a game-tying, three-point attempt at the buzzer, but the shot fell just short and Daingerfield's season came to an end with a 57-54 loss to Sabine on Friday night at Bill Waters Gymnasium.
Both teams battled back-and-forth in the final period.
A 3-pointer by Reggie Jeter got the Tigers within two points with under two minutes remaining and teammate Mical Reeves knotted the score at 54 after grabbing an offensive rebound, putting it back up with 30 seconds remaining in the contest.
Sabine's Elyan Goodwyn took control after that-as he did for most of the night-and held onto the ball to dwindle the clock. With 10 seconds left, the Cardinal drove into traffic and got the go-ahead bucket and a foul, which proved to be the winning play with only five seconds left on the clock.
"We had our chances," Daingerfield coach Curtis Lewis said. "We kept fighting and I'm proud of my kids for that. A couple more of free throws here or there, or just shots falling in general, and we would have gotten over the hump."
With the loss, Daingerfield finishes its season at 18-7.
Jeter finished with a team-high 21 points for the Tigers and even pulled down 11 rebounds for a double-double. Reeves, who also had a double-double, finished with 11 points and 11 boards.
Sabine's Goodwyn was a force all night and was responsible for over half of his team's score as he finished with a game-high 31 points.
The Tigers got off to a slow start in the first quarter as Sabine outscored them, 16-9.
The Cardinals played more conservative in the first two quarters compared to the second half, passing the ball and getting everyone involved. Goodwyn scored seven points in the first quarter as teammates Travion Oliver and Nathan WIllis combined for nine.
The second quarter saw Daingerfield getting into its groove to cut into its halftime deficit, 31-26.
The one clear advantage Sabine had over the Tigers was getting to the charity stripe and hitting its free throws. The Cardinals hit 12 of their 16 free throws, while Daingerfield could only muster eight of its 14 attempts.
"After the game, people will only think about what happened in the end-our shot didn't fall or we couldn't stop their shot," Lewis said. "But you have to look at the whole game. They have to look at the facts, and that is we had a chance. We could have hit more free throws and made some of those shots that should have fell.
"We had a chance. And yes, in the end, aevery time we got the ball back or was in a favorable spot, we would throw it away or do something. But that's not the whole story. I can't explain enough how proud I am of these kids. They fought back and put themselves in a place to where we could win the game. It was a heartbreaker."
Daingerfield 9 17 13 15 - 54
Sabine 16 15 10 16 - 57
DF (54): Broner 2 3-4 7, Reeves 5 1-2 11, Jeter 8 3-4 21, Royal 3 1-2 8, Dancer 1 0-0 2, Black 2 0-2 5. TEAM TOTALS 20 8-14 13 54.
SHS (57): Goodwyn 12 6-8 31, Oliver 2 2-2 5, Lutz 0 2-2 2, Taylor 2 0-0 6, Willis 2 1-1 5, Shawn 2 1-3 6. TEAM TOTALS 16 12-16 7 57.
3-Point Goals: DF-Jeter 2, Royal, Black. SHS-Goodwyn, Oliver, Taylor 2, Shawn.