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Avenged

Wed, 02/10/2021 - 5:00 am
Bryson moves into 2nd place tie with 66-63 road win

PERRIN – Bryson Coach Slade Egan knows a few things about seniors as his squad this year has eight of them.

In the first meeting with county rival Perrin, senior leadership was nowhere to be found as the Cowboys let a 21-point halftime lead get away from them as Perrin posted a 59-55 road win.

In the second meeting Feb. 2, Bryson again had a 20-point second half lead. Again, Perrin made a run to actually take the lead with less than 90 seconds left.

In a timeout late in the game, Egan had one plea for his charges.

“I told them just to lead,” Egan recalled. “We needed some leadership.”

This time, the Cowboys were able to fend off the Pirate ship, getting some key buckets down the stretch and hanging on for a 66-63 victory.

The Jack County teams are now in a second-place tie behind Graford and will need to break that tie at some point, provided things shake out over the final three games the way they should.

Cowboy senior Zander Tinney has had solid starts the last few games and this night was no exception. He admitted noting the sense of urgency and remembering what happened at home.

“It definitely crossed my mind,” Tinney, who had 29 points, said with a grimace. “We didn’t want to lose to them again.”

The fourth quarter opened with Bryson leading 53-41 but Perrin quickly cut the deficit nearly in half with a Kolby Burke three and Connor Ford bucket. Ethan Smith snapped the Pirate mini run to go up nine.

Keaton Burke, who had not scored, had a pair of hoops to cut the deficit to three with 4:40 remaining. Ford’s mid-range jumper cut the lead to one with 3:59 to go.

Grayson Allen put Bryson up three only to have a Wyatt Keeney three tie the game at 57 with 2:31 left. Perrin senior Michael Goodman’s free throw gave the Pirates the lead at 58-57 just 10 seconds later.

Tinney and the Cowboys began making a stand. A Smith steal set up a Tinney three. Kolby Burke, who was falling backwards into the stands, nailed a three for a 61-60 Pirate lead.

Bryson missed some free throw opportunities but a Drake Huffman bucket put Bryson on top 62-61. Stephens then had a steal, a laying and a three-point play for a 65-61 lead with 18 ticks to go. .

That would essentially seal the deal.

Bryson shot 17-29 in the first two quarters and change to get itself up by as many as 20. Perrin was just 9-29 in the same timeframe. forcing the furious comeback once again.

Stephens had 23 tallies. Perrin also had a pair in double figures. Keeney setting the pace with 19 and Ford with 16.