O’DONNELL - The Grady Wildcats lost to the Ropes Eagles Tuesday night in the Bi District round of the Class A state playoffs in the Eagles Nest in O’Donnell.
The two teams were evenly matched the almost the entire game.
Ropes had a slim 12-10 lead after the first quarter but the first three minutes of the second quarter proved to be the difference in the game.
Ropes went on a 7-0 run to increase it lead to nine points and a 25-16 halftime lead.
Third quarter action was again controlled by Ropes as the Eagles increased their lead to 38-26.
Grady would chip away at Ropes in the fourth quarter until the lead was six points.
After a quick time out, Ropes hit two big buckets to stretch the lead back to double digits.
When the clock finally struck zero, Ropes had captured the 54-44 victory.
“Any loss is a tough loss, but especially if it’s in the playoffs,” said Grady coach Chris Short. “Ropes did a great job defensively on us, they did not allow us to get the ball to Jackson Welch as much as we normally do in a game. Ropes was able to control the boards on both ends of the floor which did not allow us many second chance opportunities.”
Brendan Pelletier led Grady with 16 points and Gunnar Rivas and Jackson Welch added 11 and 10 points respectively.
Logan Aaron tossed in four points for the Wildcats while Blaise Warren hit a three pointer and Franki Jimenez tallied two points.
“Regardless of the loss and the outcome, I was very proud of this young inexperienced group of players. With only three games left of the season, this group of young players were sitting fifth in district, but found a way to win three big games and make the playoffs,” stated coach Short. “That is a season within its self. I am so proud of the effort all season long from all the players. We had several learning moments and growing pains for the majority of the year, but we survived it and made it into the playoffs. Bright future ahead.”
Grady will only lose on player from this year’s team. “Our only senior, Jackson Welch will be missed tremendously,” said Short. “His leadership has paved the way for these young players and he will continue to be a part of their success in the future of Grady Basketball because of his leadership and work ethic.”
Grady finished the season with a 12-20 record.