HS Boys Basketball: Relentless Rematch Lifts College Park to Victory Following Fourth Quarter Jump

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The highly anticipated rematch between the front-running Grand Oaks Grizzlies and the current second-place College Park Cavaliers resulted in a 75-67 Cavalier victory to keep their optimistic title-defense pace.

Winter weather and the snowfall on Tuesday necessitated a reschedule, but both teams came prepared and locked in for an awkward Thursday afternoon tipoff.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, College Park Head Coach Clifton McNeely spoke on adjusting the team’s preparation during a two-day hiatus.

“We got to practice Monday morning, and pretty much all we did was lift weights and shoot knowing that we were probably going to miss a couple days,” said McNeely. “I just have to commend our guys. They did a great job. We asked them to watch film and to get in shots on their own if they could. I praise them for preparing themselves.

On top of adjusting strategies and practices, the teams had to deal with an odd tipoff time that saw a sizable student section for the hosting Cavaliers.

Home fans and tune changes aside, the teams prepared for an intense battle that would likely secure a district championship for the Grizzlies or push the Cavs into a hopeful title defense of their own.

The offenses both got off to strong starts compared to the meandering start that began the December 3rd matchup.

Lights-out shooting from the Grizzlies saw the team torch the Cavalier defense with multiple threes. The shots from behind the arch were instrumental in building Grand Oaks’ early leads, but the College Park defenders would start to settle in and make needed stops.

Pressure on the ball by the Cav defenders forced a handful of key turnovers that halted possessions while jumping College Park into transition. Runners down the floor for the Cavs created easy layups in the open floor that erased the previously strong hold that the Grizzlies had on the scoreboard.

“I think the biggest difference was the time of year we played them the first time. Teams didn’t really have their footing under them,” said McNeely. “We jumped on them last time, but kind of let things go cause Aiden [Buckmon] didn’t play the entire fourth quarter. So we cleaned up the mess and got healthy, and when we’re like that, we’ve got just as good a chance as anybody.”

The lightning-fast gameplay saw the momentum shift back and forth multiple times during the opening eight minutes. Two ties and seven lead changes emphasized the balanced play between the two talented squads, but it was the home team that ended the quarter with the score in their favor.

A late layup from College Park’s Aiden Buckmon was enough to successfully swing the command of the scoreboard to their side, ending the first quarter with a 20-19 lead.

College Park’s late momentum carried over to start the second quarter. The team’s run that snagged the lead snowballed into a game-high 6-0 run that pushed the Cavs into their largest lead yet.

Quick possessions that drove to the basket were the best weapon against the aggressive Grand Oaks defenders. Overcommitting on passing lanes led to open drives to the paint for the lengthy Cavalier shooters.

With the Cavs starting to inch away, the Grizzlies had to call on their reliable shooters to pick up the slack and start knocking down looks. Michael Rosario and Trae Lewis were the most reliable options, but the infrequency of makes kept Grand Oaks on the back-burner for a majority of the quarter.

Noticing the offensive advantage, College Park continued to pierce the Grand Oaks paint with help from the massive Jacob Oman. The big man’s screens bought space for dribblers to work the pick-and-roll with enough space for spot-ups or drives at the rim.

Oman’s output comes on the heels of the personal achievement of having competed in the district science fair earlier in the day. His third-place finish sees him through to the next round, but it did not slow him down on the floor.

“Hats off to him, because he competed in the district science fair and finished in third place today, so he wasn’t even at shoot around,” explained McNeely. “It shows his fortitude in both the classroom and the gym to come out and play the way he did.”

Grand Oaks’ best counter to the offensive onslaught was to shift into a high-trapping defense that stopped College Park’s guards near halfcourt. With the ball being forced further out the opportunities started to dry up for the Cavalier offense.

The window of opportunity flew open for the Grizzlies to inch closer before the end of the half and they took it. A strong closing push allowed Grand Oaks to get back within a possession, ending the first half at a 37-35 College Park edge heading into the locker rooms.

“We told our guys to continue to be solid,” said McNeely during halftime. “The guys played a good first half and there were a couple things we needed to clean up. I thought we rushed it defensively a couple of times, but we play a better second half and we’ll take a win.”

Whatever changes to the game plan had to manifest in the opening minutes of the second quarter. Grand Oaks’ hopeful comeback needed more stronger offense, while College Park wanted to ride more runs to secure the win.

High-caliber play from both squads opened another intense battle for supremacy.

A three from Ian Inman looked like a big surge for the Cavaliers and their open, but a highlight-reel corner fade from Grand Oaks and Lewis kept the basket from becoming a flood.

What did briefly reestablish College Park’s hold were authoritative buckets from Oman. Feeding the advantaged Cavalier at the block gave Oman time to compose himself before putting up a high-percentage shot for crucial points.

But as unrelenting as they were in the first half, the Grizzlies fought back through a series of possessions that put the ball in the hands of their trusty shooters. Incredible effort plays from every Grizzly on the floor put the team in prime position for a lead-snagging surge.

“Everybody looks at Grand Oaks and sees a new Head Coach, but he's a very good one,” said McNeely. “They returned a lot of players that were solid last year. We knew they had what it took to win some close games.”

Laying out for a loose ball and a pass while on the floor found a Grizzly under the rim for an open look that found the bottom of the net to secure the team’s first lead since the first quarter.

The lead was short-lived due to College Park’s consistent attack, but more ties and the occasional lead change demonstrated Grand Oaks’ never-quit attitude against the adverse situation.

A Cavalier free throw before the buzzer made up the last point of the intense quarter, but a 50-49 lead set up a high-pressure environment with eight minutes to decide a winner.

Intensity hung in the air inside the increasingly packed College Park gym, but no indication of cracking showed on the players that took to the floor.

College Park’s strategy of putting on intense man-to-man defense to start the quarter kicked the team into high gear. A poke-out and layup in transition by Robert Matthews sent the Cavs on a game-high 7-0 run that looked to seal the deal in under two minutes of play.

Try as they did, Grand Oaks’ response was limited by a handful of empty possessions that saw no offensive rebounds for second chances. Without the threat of second-chance points, the Grizzlies saw many critical possessions end without any points.

In response to the limited Grand Oaks response, the Cavs started to take more time running their offensive sets. Multiple passes, holding the ball, and not putting up contested shots all ate considerable amounts of clock.

With time working against them, Grand Oaks was forced to drastically increase their offensive pace to hopefully string together enough makes to forge a late comeback.

Rosario and Lewis gave the rest of their effort in their push to snag the lead back, but their makes failed to completely erase the double-digit deficit held by the Cavs.

Another impressive push from the Grizzlies late did severely threaten the College Park lead, but clutch free throws when

College Park’s 75-67 win avenged their loss against the Grizzlies from December, but the Cavs need help outside of themselves to knock off Grand Oaks one more time to secure a realistic shot at the district title.

“I thought this was a very good basketball game from both sides,” said McNeely. “They got the first and we got the second one. Nothing we can do about the standings. They control their own destiny, but we have to get focused on Willis because we want to be the number one seed in division two if that’s how it plays out.”

All teams in 13-6A will have just over 24 hours to prepare for their next matchups that remain unchanged from their Friday evening opening tips.

College Park will hit the road to face the fourth-placed Willis Wildkats with livestream options available on The Woodlands Online Sports on Friday. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies will look to maintain their district title trajectory by facing the New Caney Eagles.

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