WAGSTAFF TOURNAMENT REVIEW
Wildcats take 2nd in holiday classic

Photo/Jim Jackson Brady Parker soars high above Grace defenders as the Wildcats play in the Wagstaff Tournament at Tyler Junior College.

The Whitehouse Wildcats saw a fourth quarter lead slip away in the championship game at Wagstaff Holiday Classic before sending the game into overtime and then falling to Lindale by the score of 49-48.

The Wildcats have made the TJC tourney an annual event which has been a great opportunity for the varsity to get in some games before opening district play.

In the Wildcats' two pool games of the tournament, they turned close games in the first half into second-half blowout wins over both Grace Community and Bullard.

With the two pool wins, the Wildcats went into the Gold bracket of the tournament.

In the first bracket game on Friday night, the Wildcats took on Van.

The Wildcats used two 10-0 runs to build a 34-19 lead on their way to a rout of the Vandals, 70-33. Luke Shivers and Cade Clark would pace the scoring for the Wildcats with 13 each.

In the semifinal game on Saturday the Wildcats competed against the defending state 2A champs, the Arp Tigers.

The Cats earned a 33-21 lead at the half thanks to a big run late in the first quarter. Arp regrouped and came out in the third quarter to go on a 16-4 run that would see the Whitehouse lead cut to two points with less than two minutes to go in the quarter.

The Wildcats then went on an 11-0 run to close the quarter to extend their lead back to 13

before closing out the Tigers for a 73-57 win. Shivers scored 7 points in the 11-0 run finishing up with a game high 18 for the Cats.

Brady Parker added 14 points, while Clark contributed 13 for the game.

With the win, the Wildcats moved into the Gold bracket championship against the Lindale Eagles.

The Eagles fell to the Cats earlier in the season when they hosted their own tournament in Lindale and were seeking to avenge that loss.

Things would not look good, however, for Lindale as Whitehouse built a 35-25 lead late in the third quarter. But, just as quickly as things turned bad for the Eagles, they would then turn good as they stormed back in the fourth quarter eventually taking a 40-37 lead.

Clark came up big for Whitehouse by hitting a three pointer with 10 seconds left in the game to force overtime. Lindale never trailed in overtime as they took a 49-47 lead with 52 seconds left.

After Whitehouse converted one of two free throws, the Eagles set up for an inbounds with a one-point lead and 6.4 seconds to play.

Mitch Marquis pressured his man and stole the inbounds pass, but the Eagles' defense forced an off balance shot at the buzzer that fell just short to seal the victory for the Eagles.

The loss was just the second on the season (16-2) for the Wildcats as they head into district play.