Big 8 West champions again
Mustangs go back-to-back with 60-57 win at Nevada
NEVADA — The McDonald County Mustangs put together an exhilerating fourth quarter rally to capture their second Big 8 West crown in as many seasons by virtue of a 60-57 win over the Nevada Tigers on Friday, Feb. 10.
“It’s been 39 years since we’ve been back-to-back conference champions. This was a good one,” beamed McDonald County coach Brandon Joines.
The Tigers (11-13, 4-2) appeared on the verge of taking the title for themselves when they ballooned a 41-40 lead after three quarters into a 52-44 advantage over the Mustangs (12-10, 6-0) with 5:14 remaining.
But McDonald County went to work with its man-to-man defense, and senior guards Sterling Woods and Cross Dowd provided sparks on offense by combining for 16 of their team’s 20 fourth-quarter points, and the Mustangs began chipping away at the deficit.
Woods cut it to six points (52-46) on an old-fashioned three-point play and, after a Nevada basket by Brice Budd, Dowd scored on a putback, trimming it to 54-49 with 3:15 remaining.
Nevada then made just 1 of 3 free-throw attempts before Woods drained a 3-pointer to pull the Mustangs within 55-52 at the 2:13 mark.
Woods followed by picking up a loose ball on defense and driving the length of the floor for a layup, bringing the Mustangs within 55-54 with 1:54 to go.
Riddick Shook rolled in a layup 21 seconds later, pushing the home team’s lead to 57-54, before Destyn Dowd knocked down a 15-footer with :46.1 on the clock.
The Tigers missed a shot on their end and Joshua Pacheco came up with the rebound for the Mustangs who, with :18.2 remaining, took the lead on a layup by Woods.
McDonald County then forced a turnover on a Nevada inbounds pass and Cross Dowd proceeded to sink 1 of 2 free throws for a 59-57 Mustang lead. Destyn Dowd got the ball back for the Mustangs by rebounding the missed second freebie and, with :07.5 left in the game, Cross Dowd was fouled again and again made 1 of 2 for what would be the 60-57 final score as the Tigers, who rebounded the missed second toss, were unable to get a good look to tie the game.
“I knew I needed to make them,” Cross Dowd said of his free throws, “to get us up a little more than what we were, but I tried not to think about them. That really helps as well.”
“That’s something we’ve struggled with, making shots from the line,” said Joines. “In the end, the best scorer in the conference in my opinion is Cross Dowd and he came through and hit some really clutch ones. Then Sterling Woods, who’s probably your best player in the conference from an overall standpoint … when you put those two guys together and they combine the way they did tonight it makes for an unbelievable group to watch because we supplmement with such equal scoring.”
Woods, who made all three of his free throw attempts in the game, added three 3s while hitting for a game-high 24 points, all but two of which came in the second half. Destyn Dowd, who hit two first-half 3s, finished with 10 points while older brother Cross Dowd registered nine.
“Give credit to Nevada, they’re a heck of a team and did a great job,” said Joines. “Our guys put in the work and got the job done. I couldn’t be happier with the performance they just put together. To be down eight with under three minutes to go, it looked like the outcome was already determined. We switched defenses and went to man and it was an unbelievable finish.”
He added, “We aren’t necessarily the best man defensive team in the league but, in the end, they had to do the work to get the job done and they did. It was unbelievable.”
Nevada coach Shaun Gray, formerly an assistant at McDonald County, said the loss was a tough one to take, especially after holding a solid lead in the fourth quarter.
“It stings,” he said. “I think at one point we had an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter, a two-possession lead in the final minutes of the game, and you feel like if you can take care of the ball and make free throws you’re going to be able to finish that out and come out on top.”
Gray said at times in the fourth quarter his players found themselves caught between choosing to run the clock and wait for the Mustangs to foul and trying to attack the basket.
“When you have a lead late, it’s hard to find that balance between burning clock and still looking to score,” he said. “We found ourselves kind of in between — ‘I’ve got an advantage on a guy, should I go score it or is this too quick of a shot and should I still try to draw the foul?’ — and we just weren’t cohesive enough with that.”
Weston Gordon tossed in seven points for the Mustangs, all coming in the first half. Pacheco added six points and Toby Moore four.
Drew Beachler, Nevada’s 6-6 senior, led the Tigers with 17 points. Brice Budd helped with 16 and Jack Cheaney 14. The home team made 10 3s in the game, including three in each of the last two quarters.
“We knew we had it in us to come in here and win the game,” Cross Dowd said, “but I think what really got us going was that winning back-to-back championships hadn’t been done in 39 years, so we really wanted to get that done.”
The atmosphere inside the gym was electric, with two boisterous student sections cheering their teams on from start to finish.
“That was awesome, too,” said Joines. “Our student section was outnumbered, but they kept their voices alive and it was great to have that support. It was an awesome environment and an awesome job overall.”
Gray said, “It was a great atmosphere. McDonald County always travels really well, and then of course we had a great home crowd here as well. That’s what high school athletics are all about. That’s the most fun part.”
Cross Dowd said even though this was a landmark win for the program, he and his teammates have more work to do.
“It’s great. It’s a great accomplishment for us to achieve,” he said. “But the season’s not done and the job’s not finished yet, but what we just did is great for us.”
MCDONALD COUNTY 60, NEVADA 57 McDonald County10 12 18 20 — 60 Nevada ........... 13 10 18 16 — 57 MCDONALD COUNTY (12-10, 6-0): Woods 24, D. Dowd 10, C. Dowd 9, Gordon 7, Pacheco 6, Moore 4.
NEVADA (11-13, 4-2): Beachler 17, Budd 16, Cheaney 14, Shook 5, Beshore 5.
LOGAN-ROGERSVILLE 75, MCDONALD COUNTY 48
ROGERSVILLE — Logan-Rogersville raced out to a 26-11 lead after one quarter of play and never looked back Tuesday night, rolling to a 75-48 win over McDonald County in the Overall Big 8 Conference title game.
The home team led 43-22 at the half and 60-36 after three quarters before outscoring the Mustangs 15-12 in the fourth quarter.
McDonald County (12-11) finished with three players in double figures: Sterling Woods with 16 points, Cross Dowd 15 on five 3-pointers and Joshua Pacheco with 11. Destyn Dowd finished with four points while Weston Gordon and Dalton McClain scored two each.
MCDONALD COUNTY 52,
CASSVILLE 49
CASSVILLE — McDonald County rode the double-digit scoring efforts of Cross Dowd, Sterling Woods and Destyn Dowd to a 52-49 victory at Cassville on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
Cross Dowd, who made 9 of 11 free throws, led the team in scoring with 18 points. Woods and Destyn Dowd tallied 12 points apiece.
Weston Gordon finished with seven points and Joshua Pacheco three for McDonald County (11-10, 5-0).
After each team scored nine points in the first quarter, Cassville eased out to a 22-21 halftime lead after a 13-12 second period. McDonald County then used a 13-8 third quarter for a 34-30 lead before Cassville’s rally fell short despite outscoring the Mustangs, 19-17, in the final stanza.
UP NEXT
The Mustangs host Mt. Vernon on Friday for a ninth-grade/junior varsity/ varsity tripleheader starting at 5 p.m. and Willow Springs on Tuesday, Feb. 21, for a varsity game that is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.