Liberty-Eylau boys fall to James Bowie in basketball,
The Leopards gave all they had. Liberty-Eylau fell to Pittsburg in a thriller that went to overtime during a District 16-4A game at the Rader Dome on Senior Night, 84-83.
The Leopards controlled the pace from the opening tip in the first quarter.
L-E held Pittsburg scoreless until the 6:10 mark, while going on a 6-0 run.
Pittsburg’s Jaylon Jimmerson did everything he could offensively in the opening period to keep his squad within a possession reach of the Leopards.
Backside rebound and ill-advised shots allowed the Pirates to take their first lead of the game with 10 seconds left in the opening period, 18-17.
The second quarter became a foot race, which favored the Leopards.
Dominique Williams led the Leopards down the stretch in the first half with his defense and ability to find the open man off the defensive rebound.
Williams ended the game with 12 points and five rebounds.
Kentraile Atkins also started to heat up for the Leopards from the field. Atkins finished first half with nine points, while finishing the game with a team-high 21 points.
The Leopards held a slight cushion over the Pirates at intermission, 40-32.
Jimmerson continued to slash to the basket for layups but Leopards Howard Barron and Isaiah Cross combated with buckets of their own.
Barron chipped in 14 points for L-E, while teammates Cross added 12 points and Daveoncha Meadows poured in 10 points.
After trailing much of the third period, Atkins tied the game from the charity stripe, 54-54, with 1:30 remaining in the third.
Atkins charged the Leopards back in the fourth quarter. Atkins made two baskets and knocked down a free throw to give the Leopards the lead, 64-63, with 5:00 left in the contest.
Atkins drained a trey with :45 seconds left, which at the moment, looked to seal the district victory for the Leopards.
Jimmerson snatched the inbound and drew a L-E foul, sinking both free throws, forcing an extra period.
The Leopards and Pirates swapped buckets much of the overtime period.
Barron’s putback with 7.9 seconds remaining in overtime looked to be the game winner, until Jimmerson took the ball the length of the court and scored a layup as time expired, giving the Pirates their first district win of the season.
Jimmerson finished with a gamehigh 36 points.