GRADY – The Grady Wildcats picked up a pair of huge district victories over Garden City and Borden County to sit alone at the top of the district standings.
Against Garden City, the two teams opened the game with solid offensive possessions running the score up to 24-23 by halftime.
“This was a close game for 32 minutes, with neither team getting a lead more than four points,” said Grady coach Chris Short. “Garden City is a hard matchup for us and well coached and kids are very disciplined. They have size, very quick and athletic.”
The Bearkats used their size and athleticism in the third quarter to go on a little run and take a three-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Just when everything was going right for Garden City, it all fell apart in the second half. The Bearkat’s shots stopped falling and the ball continually bounced Grady’s way.
The Wildcats took the momentum and outscored Garden City by six points down the stretch for a 41-38 win.
“This was a huge win for us. It was the third meeting between us and the only one that we won. These are the types of matchups, games that make teams better and prepared for post-season if they get there,” said Short. “I was very proud of all our kids play on both ends of the floor. Every kid contributed to the victory. Chapman Sims and Cooper Wallin might not have scored, but they contributed in the stats that do not show up on paper a lot of the times.”
Contributing to the win were:
Logan Aaron - 18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steal, 4 deflections;
Austin Aaron - 4 points, 8 rebounds, 3 deflections;
Quint Harrell - 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 deflection, 2 steals;
Chapman Sims - 3 rebound, 3 deflections, 1 steal;
Blaise Warren - 2 points, 2 deflections, 2 rebounds;
Kody Cates - 3 points, 2 rebounds, great post defense;
Cooper Wallin - 2 rebounds, 1 steal, great post defense;
Colt Carson - 11 points (season high), 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 deflections.
The Wildcats were in Borden County on Tuesday and both teams put on a threepoint show.
The Coyotes opened the game hitting five of their first six three-pointers to trail just 21-18 after the first quarter.
Grady stretched its lead to seven points by halftime and nearly doubled up in the third quarter for a commanding 44- 31 lead with eight minutes to play.
The Wildcats continued their high-pressure defense and closed out the road game with a nice 54-39 win.
“This was a huge district win for us on the road against Borden County and gets us one step closer to an outright District Championship,” said Short. “I was very proud of all our kid’s mental preparation for this big game. We came out strong on both ends of the floor.”
Short added, “Quint Harrell has struggled shooting the ball the past several games, he stepped up huge for us tonight hitting 5 of 8 threepoint shots.”
L. Aaron and Harrell led Grady with 18 and 17 points respectively. The two combined for 9 of 13 from beyond the arc.
Sims finished the game with seven points followed by A. Aaron with four and Carson had four.
The Wildcats are 19-9 overall this season and 7-1 in district.
Grady can clinch the District 8-A Championship with a road win against Midland TLCA at 6:30 pm on Friday.