Ford scores 38 to lead Bulldawgs to 73-62 win over Waco

By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press

The Bulldawgs needed a win to prevent an 0-2 start to District 12-6A action, Cove senior Quinton Ford insured that win with a 38-point, 10-rebound performance to lead his team to a 73-62 win over a feisty Waco Lions squad Tuesday night at Bulldawg Gymnasium.
“It’s huge,” Copperas Cove head boys’ basketball coach Travis Boyce Jr. said about the win. “It puts us back at .500. We have a tough one on Friday so we’re going to enjoy this one then we are going to game plan and get ready for Midway.”
Ford opened up with Cove’s first seven points and closed the contest with 12 of Cove’s final 14 points, including an emphatic slam dunk to put the Dawgs up 70-58 with 1:12 left in the game.
“He’s a special player for us,” said Boyce. “He’s been on the varsity for four years for a reason starting for us and he came through tonight in a big way. That’s the kind of games he’s going to have to put up in order for us to be successful throughout the year.”
Boyce also liked the scrappy nature of the rest of his squad as well.
“That’s the Bulldawg way,” he said. “That’s the way we went down and played this weekend in the tournament and I felt like we found something with this group. I told them, ‘that’s the way we have to play to win.’ We didn’t start that way, but they finished the way I wanted them to.”
The Bulldawgs began to exert their will when Ford scored 10-consecutive points for the Dawgs as part of a 12-2 run that brought the Dawgs from three points down to begin the frame to seven up with 4:10 left.
A traditional three-point play by Waco senior Dale Smith cut the Cove lead to just four, 27-23, before the Dawgs closed the frame on a 10-6 run to take an eight-point lead, 37-29, into the halftime break. Baskets by junior Jerome Gaillard, senior Tyrese Taylor, senior Maurice Toney and Ford accounted for the Cove run. 
Consecutive three pointers by Cove junior Isaiah Sobers, a putback by Taylor and a streaking basket by Ford quickly ballooned the Cove lead to 16, 47-31 with 5:40 remining in the third quarter. 
The Lions managed to cut the Cove lead to single-digits, 52-43, on three-pointers by juniors Jacob Delarosa and Jordan Fuller. 
Ford answered with the first of two second-half dunks for a 54-43 Cove lead with 1:46 left in the period, but a basket by Waco senior Timothy Coaster and a three-pointer by Fuller made it a six-point contest, 54-48, heading into the final frame. 
After a free throw by Coaster cut the Cove lead to five, 54-49, the Bulldawgs made four consecutive trips to the charity stripe where they were a combined 5 for 8 to extend the lead to 10, 59-49, with 5:21 left.
A traditional three-point play by Ford launched a 13-6 Cove run to close the contest. Ford was 5 for 6 from the free throw line and had a slam dunk to close out Cove’s 73 points.
Following Ford’s 38-point performance was Taylor with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Ford was also 11 for 15 from the free throw line. Sobers (6), Gaillard (6), Toney (4) Damon Hewing (3) and junior Ahmad Pierce (2) closed out the scoring for Cove. 
Smith had 18 points to lead the Lions followed by Coaster (16), senior Jimmy Veal (11) Fuller (6), Kemon Taylor (5), Delarosaq (3), Tyrese Carroll (3) and Kenneth Bell (2). 
The Dawgs return to court tonight with a road game at Waco Midway.