Bulldawgs stay in playoff hunt with 70-67 win over Wolves

By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press

The stakes were high.
Another district loss for their seventh-consecutive loss would have put the Bulldawgs in a deep hole in the race for the top four spots in District 12-6A.
Despite leading by as much as 10 midway through the fourth quarter, Copperas Cove found themselves locked in a contentious battle with Shoemaker downs to the finals second in their 70-67 win over the Grey Wolves Friday night at Bulldawg Stadium.
Leading by just one point entering the fourth quarter, the Bulldawgs fought off the rallying Grey Wolves with a couple huge dunks by senior big man Maurice Henry for a 62-55 lead with 4:18 left, another big play in the paint by even bigger man sophomore Michael Uini and a couple big plays by senior guard Marcellus Anderson and junior Henry Sanchez for a 68-64 lead with a little more than a minute left to play. A free throw each by Henry and Uini gave Cove a 70-65 lead with 24 seconds left.
Shoemaker tried to force an overtime period with a pair of free throws by senior Jalen Spence and a last-second heave from three-point land by senior Antwone Gonzales, but it just missed the mark for the 70-67 final score.
Sanchez led the Bulldawgs with a game-high 22 points while adding four rebounds while Henry had 15 points and 10 rebounds with 7 of his 15 points coming in that crucial fourth quarter. 
“It feels good,” said Henry after the win. “We’ve been struggling lately. We’re coming off a six-game losing streak, so to get the (win), especially against a rivalry team and at home with all the fans watching, it feels really good and carries momentum into the next game against Harker Heights.”
Anderson added 11 points, followed by Uini (6 pts, 6 rebs), senior De’Quan Seda (5 pts), junior Jayden Triplett (3 pts, 4 rebs), freshman Jordan Payne (3 pts, 4 rebs), sophomore Bryce Smith (3 pts, reb), and junior Trevon Bostick (2 pts, reb).
Gonzales led the Wolves with 19 points and three rebounds followed by Spence with 12 points and five boards. Soph. Jaymes Brown-Petterson added 9 points and four rebounds, followed by soph. Nasuan Parker (8 pts, 3 rebs), soph. Dyrayvian Starling (7 pts, 4 rebs), senior Jezreal DeJesus Fargas (6 pts, 2 rebs), senior Henri Vizcarrondo (5 pts, 5 rebs) and junior Jaiyon Williams (1 pt, reb).
A basket by Spence gave Shoemaker the early 7-3 lead in the first quarter before consecutive threes by Anderson and Seda gave Cove their first lead of the game, 9-7.
After back-and-forth action, Cove’ Payne scored on a basket and 1 for 2 free throws and Sanchez connected on the first of his four three-pointers on the night for a 17-11 Cove lead.
Shoemaker responded the three points the traditional way by Parker to cut the lead to three where the first quarter finished with Cove leading 18-15.
A basket by Sanchez and a putback by Henry, along with free throws by Sanchez, Henry, and Seda helped Cove grow their lead to 11, 26-15, despite making just 4 for 8 free throws in the span. 
The Grey Wolves slowly began to chip away at the Bulldawgs’ lead with free throws and a bucket by Gonzales, a basket by Vizcarrondo and a basket and a three-pointer by sophomore Dyrayvian Starling that made it a four-point game, 31-27. Cove’s points came on a three by Sanchez and a bucket in the paint by Triplett.
A basket in the paint by Uini stopped the Shoemaker run before 2 for 3 free throws by Shoemaker’s Vizcarrondo and Gonzales and 2 for 2 by Cove’s Sanchez closed out the first half with Cove leading 35-30.
Smith connects of a two for Cove to begin the third quarter before consecutive baskets by Henry and another three by Sanchez again made it a 10-point contest, 44-34, while Shoemaker’s Brown-Petterson and Vizcarrondo accounted for Shoemaker’s four points. 
The Grey Wolves then exploded for 9-0 run to make it a one-point game, 44-43, led by five points by Spence.
Free throws by Cove’s Anderson and Shoemaker’s Gonzales pushed the score to 46-45. A free throw each by Uini and Triplett pushed Cove ahead 48-45 with 1:03 left in the third. 
A basket by Gonzales again brought the Wolves within a point, but another three by Sanchez made it a 51-47 game with time winding down before a last-second three by Shoemaker’s Fargas made it a 51-50 score entering the pivotal fourth quarter.
The Bulldawgs (10-12 overall, 2-4 in District 12-6A) host district leaders No. 14 Harker Heights coming off their 64-55 win over Temple to move to 5-0 in district play. The Grey Wolves (17-9, 3-2) host Belton (21-4, 4-1).