Eagles topple Bulldogs in waning seconds
The pendulum swing of emotions that is Atascocita-Summer Creek basketball left spectators at Delmar Fieldhouse feeling drained.
Those on the Atascocita side of the arena had more pep to their walk, thanks to Tom Hart III.
The senior guard’s tough layup with 4.2 seconds left helped Atascocita triumph in a 52-51 victory in Friday night’s Class 6A Region III title game between Humble ISD rivals.
On the other end for Summer Creek, though, was senior Steve Sawyer’s layup as time expired in what looked like the winning moment for the Bulldogs. However, officials disqualified the shot, saying it did not beat the buzzer.
After the referees’ call, Atascocita stormed to the locker room with unbridled joy before having to come back to accept medals. Summer Creek players and fans were in a frenzy when it looked like Sawyer’s shot was good. After the referees’ call, it was pure despair.
Summer Creek coach Kenneth Coleman hadn’t seen video of Sawyer’s shot at the time of the postgame news conference, saying
“It is what it is and I’m sure we’ll be second-guessing more than that shot.”
Atascocita coach David Martinez said all he saw at the end was the referee waving the shot off.
“I can’t even put it in words,” Martinez said. “It’s an incredible feeling for one. These young men here (Hart III and senior guard Justin Collins), they’ve been with me by my side for four years. We’ve worked extremely hard. My hat goes off to Summer Creek and Kenneth Coleman and his group. That was an unbelievable battle. We knew it was going to be. It was going to come down to who was the toughest. I’ll take these two with me anywhere.”
Atascocita and Summer Creek were tied after every quarter except the last one.
The teams combined for 26 points at the end of the first quarter, tied at 13. Atascocita opened the second frame on a 6-2 run, only to see Summer Creek take a 22-19 lead. Then, a trading of 3-pointers between Atascocita’s Collins and Devion Randle and Summer Creek’s Jaylon Johnson.
The teams were tied at 25 at the break. There had been eight lead changes and five ties at that point.
Then, the teams went into the fourth tied at 40, thanks to Johnson’s 3pointer just before the third-quarter buzzer sounded.
More late magic came from Summer Creek in Amaree Abram’s 3-pointer tying the game at 48 with 2:29 remaining in the contest.
The night’s theme of neither team being afraid of the big moment continued. Collins’ drive and layup gave Atascocita a 50-49 lead with 45 seconds left, once again putting the onus on a young Summer Creek team to match.
Abram was up for it. The junior had a layup blocked by Atascocita’s Kaleb Pouncy, with the ball going out of bounds and possession staying with Summer Creek. Abram’s second attempt was on point, giving the Bulldogs the 51-50 lead with 13 seconds remaining.
Then, Hart III weaved around defenders and nabbed the eventual gamewinner.
Martinez said Hart came to him in the huddle before the play and said “If I got the ball, I’m taking the last shot.”
On the tough winning shot, Hart III jokingly said, “I practice that.”
“It’s all thanks to God really and my teammates having trust in me to take the last shot and my coaching staff,” Hart III said. “We prepare for those moments.”
Atascocita is back in the state tournament for the first time since 2016. Summer Creek was in its first regional final in school history. There will be more nail-bitters between these two teams.
“Every game is like that,” Coleman said of the Summer Creek-Atascocita basketball rivalry. “We anticipated a tough game but I felt like we were the only team in the region that could beat them. We just fell short.”