DOWN TO THE FINAL BUZZER
Playing their best basketball at the right time, Clifton Cubs use a fourth quarter comeback to knock off Mildred in Class 3A Bi-District playoff before coming up short against 14th-ranked Franklin in Area
After restoring their momentum going into the Class 3A boys basketball postseason tournament and playing their best basketball at the right time, the Clifton Cubs accomplished a rare feat. For the second time in three seasons, the Cubs won a playoff game after going through a 20-year drought.
Riding a dramatic come-from-behind, fourth quarter comeback, the Cubs soared past the Mildred Eagles, 58-50, in a Bi-District playoff showdown last Tuesday night at Italy High School.
“It was great,” Clifton boys basketball head coach Tom Daniel said. “Our kids were real excited, and so was I. We haven’t had a whole lot of playoff wins in the last 20 years, but that’s the second one we’ve gotten in the last three years. And I hope we can get some more next season.”
Senior Jacob Wells nailed four shots from three-point range on his way to a game-high 16 points, followed by senior Andres Devora and juniors Jonah Payne and Diego Rodriguez with eight each, as well as junior Joaquin De La Hoya with seven after hitting five of six at the free throw line during the fourth quarter.
Mildred (21-9) jumped out to a surprising 12-4 lead in the first period before the Cubs held their own in the second to take an eight-point deficit into halftime. Despite a hard-fought battle in the third, the Cubs were only able to trim a single point off the Mildred lead before outscoring the Eagles, 23-8, in the final period for the dramatic come-from-behind win.
“We got off to kind of a slow start, but we kept fighting,” Daniel said. “We got back in it, and then they went on a little run to put us back in the hole. But we responded with a 13-0 run to flip it around. We were down by seven going into the fourth quarter, and we turned it into a six-point lead.”
Finding themselves in a similar situation in the Area Playoff at China Spring High School last Friday night, the Cubs could not produce enough magic late to pull out the win as the 14-ranked Franklin Lions held on late to secure a 57-51 victory.
Trailing Franklin from the opening tipoff, the Cubs went on an 11-0 run late the third quarter, and Wells sank a three just a minute into the fourth to give Clifton its first lead of the game, 44-43. But Franklin promptly embarked on an 8-0 run of its own to quickly put the Cubs back in hole they could not climb out of this time.
“Once again, the kids played so hard and gave us opportunities to get the job done,” Daniel said. “We took the lead early in the fourth quarter when Jacob hit a three to give us a one-point lead. But Franklin’s a good team. They bounced right back and went on a little run themselves. And that became a little bit too much to overcome.”
Hitting five three-pointers, Wells led Clifton (22-13) with 17 points in his final high school game, followed by Devora with 11 points three from three-point range, junior Tristan Hammonds with eight and junior Ray Ochoa with six.
“They have some good athletes, and they attack the rim hard,” Daniel said. “It hurt us when Maddox got hurt a minute into the game, and he affects a lot of shots around the rim. The other guys did the best they could, but it’s hard to replace 6-4 in the paint. But they did everything they could. We were still in it in the fourth quarter, so I was really proud of the way they competed.”
In a wild finish to the regular season, the Cubs used a little luck and a timely win to get their postseason hopes back on track. Despite coming up short of claiming the District 17-3A title, the Cubs shook off a three-game losing streak to close out the regular season by knocking off the Grandview Zebras, 74-59, in a second place tiebreaker showdown in Keene. And with the resounding win, Clifton recaptured some momentum heading into their second playoff appearance in the last three seasons.
Senior Jacob Wells drained six shots from three-point range on his way to a game-high 22 points as the Cubs jumped out to a 45-31 lead going into halftime and never looked back to avenge Clifton’s 55-44 loss on the road at Grandview to set up the three-way tie for second place in District 17-3A. Juniors Jonah Payne, Ray Ochoa and Maddox Hinojosa tossed in 10 points apiece while senior Andres Devora add nine more.
“We scored 45 points in the first half, so we were clicking on all cylinders offensively, for sure,” Clifton boys basketball head coach Tom Daniel said. “We played the same team on Tuesday and only scored 44 points the whole game. It worked out great for us. It was nice to only have to play the one game. And it was good to play the way we did to gain some of that confidence back that we had built up all season.”
After losing three straight road games to the top three teams – Keene, Grandview and Maypearl – in District 17-3A to finish in a three-way tie for second place, Clifton won the coin flip to earn a bye as Grandview defeated Maypearl, 50-44, in the first of two tiebreaker showdowns in Keene to set up the rubber match.
“That was a tough stretch right there, but the guys responded well,” Daniel said. “Then we dominated in that second place game. I felt like we were the team, at that point, that was playing the best basketball.”
The Cubs went into the final regular season stretch of three straight road games having won eight of their last nine games and tied for first place with Keene. But Clifton struggled to put together a complete game on the road, losing at Maypearl, 74-64, Feb. 6, falling for the second time this season at Keene, 46-42, Feb. 9 and coming up short against Grandview.
“We didn’t play terrible in those games,” Daniel said. “They were tough places to go play. Against Maypearl, they hit a bunch of shots about us. Against Keene, we didn’t get off to a very good start, but we played well down the stretch. Then against Grandview the other night, just the same sort of deal with a slow start. I think we were better for it in the playoffs.
“I was very pleased with how we played throughout most of the year. We had a couple of hiccups, but I feel like we were able to learn from them. We won 22 games this year, which was a big improvement from the previous season. I feel like we can build on this too. We have a lot of guys coming back for next year, and I’m already getting excited for next season.”
Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS
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