HS Boys Basketball: Second-Half Surge Pushes College Park to Victory Over the Scrappy War Eagles

OAK RIDGE NORTH, TX -- The College Park Cavaliers hit the road and took the win over the energized Oak Ridge War Eagles in a 70-54 affair on Saturday afternoon.

The two teams squared off in November as one of the early games in the district schedule. The Cavaliers took a 70-43 win over the War Eagles on top of a handful of useful lessons that would be applied in the rematch.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, College Park Head Coach Clifton McNeely explained the tendencies and strategies that he and his coaching staff noticed ahead of their War Eagle rematch.

“From watching the film, we know they’re a drastically improved team since November,” said McNeely. “Their kids did a great job defensively, so we knew we were going to have to be better on the offensive end.”

Despite both teams having blistering offenses that could quickly ratchet up the scoring, the start of the first quarter saw minimal scoring.

College Park’s dependable shooters found difficulties working the ball toward open space due to the persistent guarding from Oak Ridge defenders. What shots did go up tended to come from inside the paint where the Cavs held a noticeable size advantage.

Dunks from Jacob Oman ended College Park possessions with emphatic plays while kickstarting the Cavalier offense.

In contrast, lengthy possessions from Oak Ridge ate whole minutes off the clock before hoisting a shot attempt. The War Eagles’ slow approach allowed the team to keep College Park out of tempo while finding success against the Cavalier man-to-man defense.

The back-and-forth of Cavalier inside shots and free throws kept the team’s stance in a favorable position. But the scrappy play and three-point shooting from Oak Ridge kept the quarter from being a runaway at any point.

“We just didn’t do a good job on the pick and roll action,” emphasized McNeely. “I thought both of our big men were kind of blowing their defensive assignment from the scouting report.”

A 14-12 Cav lead was to be expected of 13-6A’s reigning champion, but the issues of overcoming Oak Ridge’s offensive approach had to be tackled ahead of the second quarter.

Luckily for College Park, their offense started to emerge as a charging force at the start of the second eight minutes of play.

A run sustained by the Cavaliers stretched from the end of the first quarter into the second. The 9-0 blue and silver run created the most sizable distance on the scoreboard up to that point.

College Park’s seven-point lead provided a light cushion but continued play and offensive production needed to be the difference maker in the still single-digit game.

“The big thing was not to settle,” emphasized McNeely. “We thought we could get to the rim and get downhill… But I was proud of the effort both on offense and defense.”

Aiding College Park’s success in the second quarter was multiple empty possessions for the War Eagles that ended in either turnovers or defensive rebounds. These lost Oak Ridge chances allowed the Cavs to tally scores that swung control back to their side, including back-to-back threes from Tyson Forrest.

But even with College Park figuring out their defense, the War Eagles still took strides to keep the scoreboard down to a single-digit deficit. Stretching the floor with skip passes found several holes in the Cavalier scheme.

Holes in the Cavalier defense were turned into valuable War Eagle points that left College Park holding onto a 29-23 lead going into the locker rooms.

“We didn’t really make any adjustments at halftime,” said McNeely. “We talked about how we’re supposed to be playing and that put the guys back on track and in focus.”

An early opening 5-0 run from College Park shot the lead to the first double-digit margin of the game. But like they had done all game, the War Eagles responded with an offensive scrap that immediately brought the lead within a few possessions.

The wide range of scoring methods from Oak Ridge continued to catch the College Park defenders off guard. Penetration kick-outs for threes, baseline passes into corners, and movement away from the ball set up the War Eagles with space and time to put the ball up.

Not helping Oak Ridge in their hopeful comeback and upset was the lopsided rebounding in College Park’s favor.

Offensive and defensive boards for the height-advantaged Cavs pilled against limited War Eagle resistance. One-and-done Oak Ridge possessions meant the offense could not build momentum on misses, while second chances for College Park gave their bigs ample looks for inside points.

“The second half, I thought the energy Francisco [Cantillo Mulonga] brought for us on defense and keeping the ball alive on offense with rebounds was great,” said McNeely in praise of his player. “He did a great job in the first half and he did an even better job in the second half. He gave us that energy.”

The lopsided rebound game kept the third quarter firmly in College Park’s grasp while setting up a potential to run away in the closing minutes.

“The big thing was to be solid,” said McNeely before the start of the fourth. “We trust them to play good basketball. They work on it each and every day, and they do a good job.”

Despite having the largest lead of the game on their side, the Cavaliers brought energy and intense play to the forefront in the last remaining quarter.

Steals brought on by quick hands and diving players snuffed out Oak Ridge’s possessions before they had a chance to work into their sets. College Park’s effort plays were rewarded immediately after by runners down the floor sprinting to find open shots and layups in transition.

The ten-point Cavalier lead steadily grew into a 19-point margin that looked insurmountable with precious seconds ticking away.

A noticeable uptick in pace from the War Eagles tried to secure points while preserving clock, but the rushed possessions saw hurried shots miss their marks, and aired passes lead to snags in the offensive timing.

Without sync on the offensive end and the clock working against them, Oak Ridge’s hopes of a comeback victory were rapidly fading.

Oak Ridge’s primary savior were the multiple free throws taken by the team that stopped the clock while providing chances to snag easy points from the charity stripe. Aggressive drives to the rim from the War Eagle guards were the steadiest stream of free-throw providers, simultaneously putting College Park’s bigs in foul trouble.

Even with College Park’s fouling, the players who came in from the bench provided enough gas to sustain the team’s scoring momentum to the final buzzer.

The 70-54 margin demonstrated improvement of Oak Ridge’s end from November, but the result of a College Park win added another to the Cavalier win column just the same.

With only two losses in district play, the Cavs still have a strong chance at making the playoffs, but with the race behind them being incredibly tight, the issues of injuries weigh heavy on College Park’s shoulders.

“The big thing right now is who’s healthy down the stretch,” said McNeely. “I took Aiden [Buckmon] out the last four minutes because he’s been playing with a bum ankle. It’s all about our guys staying healthy.”

Pending weather conditions, the Cavaliers are set to take on the Grand Oaks Grizzlies at home on Tuesday night in the hopes of handing the Grizzlies their first district loss. Meanwhile, the War Eagles will get a slight breather in a road matchup against the struggling New Caney Eagles.

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