In another wild game that went down to the final buzzer, the Hobbton Wildcats slipped by the Rosewood Eagles, 52-47.
The Wildcats led the whole first half, up by three at 20-17 after the first quarter and 29-26 at the half. The Wildcats were up by seven in the second quarter however Rosewood kept it close and. Rosewood got the lead the first time with five minutes left in the the third quarter and were up 36-33 after three quarters.
The Wildcats were down by six in the early part of the final quarter but scrapped back to tie at 42 midway the final period. From there, the score was back and forth with a one or two-point difference each way until the final minute and a half. With 1:38 left, the Wildcats had a four-point lead at 48-44. The Eagles cut that to 48-47 with just over one minute left. The Wildcats went up 50-47 with 1:02 left. Rosewood started fouling and the Wildcats were sinking free throws to go 51-47 and on the final at 52-47.
“I’ve been coaching here and playing Rosewood for four years. This is the first time we have beat them,” said Hobbton coach Alphonza Hooper. “I scouted Rosewood when they played Southern Wayne and I know they were small but scrappy. I told my guys we would have to come out and play hard with them from the start. It was tit for tat all the way through. Rosewood has some guys that hit some big shots. When they went up by six, we just fought back. We refused to lose.”
“Omar Farrior, our best penetrating guard, was in foul trouble all night. I told the guys it would come down to free throws. Hats off to Cody Stewart. He rebounded big when we needed him to. It was just an awesome win.”
Hooper had praises for Rosewood’s coaching staff. “They do a great job coaching them and they kind of take you out of your game plan. The defense causes you to have to be disciplined.”
He continued, “Hats off to my guys. They really did a great job. I would also like to thank the Hobbton crowd. We had a good crowd for a Tuesday night. Coach (Chris) Carroll did a play by play, something new we are trying. We are starting the conference 1-0 and we have a quick turnaround at Spring Creek Thursday night.”
He finished with, “Boxing out, rebounds and free throws was the difference.”
Farrior led the Wildcat scoring with 18 points. Raekwon Bryant and Cody Stewart added nine each.