A fundamental which coaches emphasize from the very beginning of preseason drills proved to help end the season for the Texline Tornadoes in the least expected way Monday night.
With 20 seconds left in regulation of their UIL Class 1A Division II region semifinal playoff game against Whitharral at Bushland, the Tornadoes held what looked like a comfortable five point lead. However, the free throw line proved to be a huge black hole for Texline.
The Tornadoes had a chance to put away the game, or least get in a comfort zone, but suddenly went cold at the the charity stripe when it most counted. After Whitharral cut the lead to two on a 3-pointer, they missed a pair of free throws, allowing the Panthers to come back and tie the game and force overtime, where they pulled out a 78-74 victory to end Texline’s season.
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In the fourth quarter and overtime, No. 4 Texline (28-8) made only 8-of-19 from the line, and the Tornadoes missed 11 of their last 16 free throws. It wasn’t recipe for pulling out a game which was tight the whole way.
“That was a big part of it, but it wasn’t the only part,” said Texline coach Coby Beckner in explaining his team’s defeat. “We gave up too many offensive rebounds. We also got down and showed some character by coming back. Unfortunately those free throws didn’t go down and we’re generally better at the line than that.”
It was a tough way to end a game which was as competitive as a playoff game can get. Neither team held a double digit lead, and Texline’s nine-point lead early in the third quarter was the biggest advantage of the game. Whitharral (23-10) closed the quarter with a 22-7 run and led 49-43 going into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter of regulation was the best offensive quarter of the game, as Texline scored 28 points, which looked like it would be enough to win. They stormed back to take a 59-58 lead and led by as many as six points in the final three minutes.
Hadley Crisp asserted himself inside for the Tornadoes, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter, and ironically, he made all three of his free throws. After that though, it was a struggle from the line.
The sequence which will stay with the Tornadoes the longest, though, came with them holding a 71-66 lead with 20 seconds left. Whitharral’s Nate Sansom wasn’t immune to the free throw bug, as he missed a pair, but Texline couldn’t corral the second miss, and eventually the Panthers got the ball to Daniel Robinson, who hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 71-69 with 13 seconds left.
Whitharral immediately fouled Bo Bradley, who led the Tornadoes with 23 points. But Bradley, who had missed four straight free throws in the quarter, missed two more again, and the Panthers came down the court, and Sansom scored on a with two seconds left to tie it at 71 and force overtime.
“I think it just got in (Bradley’s) head a little bit,” Beckner said. “We just kind of lost our focus and were feeling the pressure a little bit.”
Neither team was able to generate much offensive momentum in overtime, where Texline never led. Bradley scored to answer a basket by Sansom, but after Sansom scored again to make it 75-73, the Panthers never trailed again.
Texline cut it to 75-74 when Bradley broke his cold streak at the line by hitting the second of two free throw attempts. Both teams stagnated on their respective offensive possessions before Crisp was fouled with 13 seconds remaining.
However, Crisp missed both attempts, and when Whitharral rebounded the ball, Damian Rodriguez was fouled and made one of two free throws to make it 76-74 and leave the Tornadoes with a chance.
They brought the ball down and Branston Potter tried a 3-pointer from the left wing which missed the mark and couldn’t convert a putback attempt. Rodriguez rebounded and was fouled with two seconds left, and made both free throws to seal it.
“They’re Texline and they’re going to make shots,” Whitharral coach Brett Berger said. “I told our guys that and it was how we were going to respond to that and they did that pretty well.”
Beckner thinks that in the end Whitharral’s experience showed.
“They’ve got quite a few seniors and we’re really quite young,” Beckner said. “It’s no surprise at all and I knew it was going to be a battle. They did a good job.”
Crisp had 19 points for Texline while Potter and Rett Wann had 12 each.
Robinson had a game-high 28 for Whitharral, including three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Sansom had 23 and Rodriguez scored 14.
Despite the heartbreaking nature of the loss, Beckner emphasized maintaining perspective.
“I told our guys that this is basketball, it doesn’t define who you are” Beckner said. “It’s just what you do. This is adversity and it’s a lesson to learn and you’ve got to bounce back. That’s the most important thing is how well you respond.”
Whitharral led by as many as six points in the first half and had most of the momentum. However. after the Tornadoes started cold shooting from outside, they made three straight threes, and Potter hit a trey in the final seconds of the half to give Texline a 26-20 halftime lead.