HS Boys Basketball Playoffs: Crucial Made Free Throws Secure Area Win For The College Park Cavaliers

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Brutally intense play saw the College Park Cavaliers secure a 69-68 win over the scrappy Klein Collins Tigers to advance to the third round of the state playoffs.

In action from Tuesday, a nail-biting performance against Spring and a 36-point from Aiden Buckmon put the Cavaliers in position to continue their postseason journey.

The 72-68 win was a wake-up call for the entire College Park team. The lessons learned about preventing a repeat scare informed the team’s planning ahead of Klein Collins.

In an interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, College Park Head Coach Clifton McNeely discussed the team’s preparation before their Area Round matchup.

“We worked on things in practice to make sure that [Buckmon and Ian Inman] were in the game,” explained McNeely. “We knew Collins would try to box one out and keep the ball out of Aiden’s hands, but when you’re a great player, you find a way to get it done.”

Fans and students showed out to represent their respective schools inside The Woodlands High School gym, and the energy was high before the anticipated tip-off.

Despite the Cavaliers dealing the opening blow with an inside bucket, the Tigers were the first to build sizable traction during the first quarter.

Bully-ball and backing down College Park defenders got Collins some effort points to start the matchup before a barrage of increasingly damaging threes started to create waves of separation.

By the time the Cavaliers got their second bucket, the Tigers had already strung together a 13-0 run and a 13-2 lead by the midway point of the first.

Klein Collins’ run was not built by incredible defense or costly Cavalier turnovers. Instead, a lengthy streak of misses from the typically top-notch Cavalier shooters saw College Park end multiple possessions with a miss and no second-chance look.

“They were shooting lights out on the threes,” said McNeely. “We had that in our scouting report. So, we had to make adjustments because we had our guys going under since they hadn’t shot like that according to our scouting report.”

Even with the Cavs starting to find their groove offensively, the team was undone by miscues and some turnovers while trying to work the ball inside.

Fortunately for College Park, a couple of threes from Buckmon and Inman to end the first quarter ate into the previously double-digit Tiger lead. A 19-12 Klein Collins advantage was still manageable should the Cavs maintain their strides offensively.

College Park’s guard play carried the torch of a game-high 14-0 run into the second quarter that completely wiped away the Klein Collin clasp.

Buckmon, Inman, and Tyson Forrest put in critical points from every stretch of the floor on the team’s double-digit run. The run was so long and strong that it swung the scoreboard in College Park’s favor with a 23-19 lead.

“With the way [the Tigers] were playing, we told Rob and Evan they had to step up and look to score because no one was guarding them,” said McNeely. “And we told Tyson that he had to get to the rim and not settle for the same things.”

Aiding the Cavs in their momentum swing was a suffocating level of defense that increased pressure around the three-point line.

Klein Collins’ guards had to work against the face-guarding Cavs the second the ball came across halfcourt. Both teams were also fairly matched in size and speed, meaning that next to no mismatches could be taken advantage of by the Tigers through screens.

The Tigers did eventually break free of their offensive funk to bring the scores close to even again, but the relentless Cavalier guards refused to let off the gas.

Drives at the rim, and an 11-point quarter from Buckmon, ensured easy points for College Park toward the end of the half that kept the team afloat with a 33-29 lead going into the locker rooms.

“I think if you have a great player, you have to let greatness happen,” said McNeely praising Buckmon. “He’s a great high school basketball player, and he’s going to have a bright future at the next level.”

Adjustments during the break saw Klein Collins open with an aggressive first two possessions that attacked the rim. An alley-oop and drive to the lane quickly retied the game, but a few seconds passed and the Cavs were back in control.

The switching man-to-man defense from the Tigers got the Cavaliers moving away from the ball to find open space around the floor. Dribble penetrations and kick-outs to open shooters put College Park’s guards where they were strongest.

Corner threes from Robert Matthews were instrumental in keeping the Cavs afloat, but the occasional miss gave enough space for the Tigers to inch back on the scoreboard.

Klein Collins’ persistence in driving into the paint got more reliable points than the distance-oriented Cavalier offense. The hard-nosed attacks from the Tiger players bulldozed through the would-be defenders before putting up acrobatic lay-ins.

Resurgent shooting from the Cavs restored the team’s slight advantage, but the remainder of the third quarter was a back-and-forth slugfest for the slight point advantage.

The final buzzer sounded to end the war of attrition with the Tigers hitting free throws to stretch the slim lead to three ahead of the final eight minutes of regulation.

Just one quarter remained before a winner would be crowned, and Klein Collins’ opening surge showed that the team was not willing to give an inch during crunch time.

College Park’s perimeter defenders started to drop back under screens to prevent the Tigers from driving to the rim like they had throughout the third quarter.

Realizing the defensive stance, Klein Collins started to dot up the three-point line with open shots that fell with impressive efficiency.

In the face of almost overwhelming Tiger shooting, the Cavaliers responded with similar shots from Inman and Buckmon. The ever-reliable Cavs sank the opportunities given to them despite the mounting pressure put on by the moment and fans.

Supporting play from the rest of the Cavs on the floor, including Evan Mason, was crucial for the team trying to reach where their season had come to a bitter end a year ago.

“Tyson just gad to settle down and get his nerves. He’s been a great third option for us all season and tonight was no different,” said McNeely. “Robert did a good job tonight defensively… and Evan matched up to some of their guys a lot better than we expected.”

Seconds ticked by with neither team mounting runs more than one or two buckets. With just two minutes left, a 66-66 tie further ratcheted tension to the highest it had been all game.

This tie lasted briefly due to an elusive drive from the quietly productive Forrest. The nimble guard weaved through the Cavalier defenders for another layup at the rim that put the team up by two with just under two minutes left.

Collins had an empty possession to follow, putting the ball back in the hands of the Cavaliers to likely dribble out the clock.

Considerable time came off the clock without the Tigers fouling, but it paid off due to a Cavalier turnover on a mishandled pass.

Just over a minute forced the Tigers into overdrive on their next possession to hopefully tie the intense affair. But a great contest at the rim by College Park inside snuffed out the possession without a make.

Another chance to seal the game landed in College Park’s lap following a high-flying inbounds. Quick passes got the Cavs near the rim before a foul sent a College Park shooter to the free-throw line.

Unfortunately for the Cavs, misses on both attempts and a Tiegr rebound gave Klein Collins enough of an opening to steal the win in the final seconds. A stealthy inbound and reverse layup tied the game, but the most costly foul of the season could have ended the game with an and-one for the Tigers.

The shot missed, and with just a few seconds left, the Cavs charged forward hoping to put up a buzzer-beater before overtime.

But, an even costlier foul by the pursuing Tiger guards sent the Cavaliers into the bonus with less than a second on the clock.

Buckmon went to the line to attempt the most critical free throw shots of the season with every Klein Collins fan bearing down on him.

The Tiger fans tried their hardest to shake the Cavalier guard, but the Senior guard stayed composed and drained his first before tactfully missing the second shot short.

“We told Aiden in the huddle to miss,” said McNeely. “We told our guys to stand perfectly still because seven-tenths of a second, you don’t have time to catch it and take a dribble or anything before getting the shot off.”

Without any timeouts, the Tigers had to chuck up a desperate hail mary before the buzzer, but it missed the mark and the Cavs sprinted off the floor to the tune of a 69-68 win.

Back-to-back wins by single digits have shaped the Cavaliers into cardiac kids, but the hopes of getting the team back in rhythm ahead of the Regional Semifinals has the coaching staff ready for whatever comes next.

“I told the guys in there like I did the other night, ‘We didn’t play great, but the bottom line is all you got to do is play to win,’” said McNeely. “We’re not going to critique this game. We’re going to move on to the first thing once we find out who we’re playing.”

College Park’s third-round opponent will be another grizzled veteran of the postseason, with either Shoemaker or Wylie East being next on the docket.