It took senior leadership for Hydro-Eakly to win the West Central Tournament in Weatherford.
In the first round of the tournament, the Bobcats defeated Corn Bible Academy 79-24. In the semifinals, Hydro-Eakly defeated Arapaho-Butler 59-42 and defeated Calumet 64-60 and this game went right down to the wire.
“We played well in the tournament, but in the game against Calumet, we played very well in the end,” coach Rick Gore said. “We played great defense in the tournament and I am happy with how we stepped up when we needed to.
Hydro-Eakly 79, Corn Bible Academy 24
Hydro-Eakly held Corn Bible scoreless until late in the first quarter when Corn Bible scored two points. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 21-2 going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bobcats outscored Corn Bible 15-3 near the end of the first half and Hydro-Eakly was ahead 40-8 at halftime.
It was another quarter of Hydro-Eakly scoring points in the third quarter, as they scored 27 points and were ahead 67-14 going into the fourth quarter.
Hydro-Eakly won the game 79-24. Nolan Gore scored 23 points, Carson Propps scored 20 points and Paxton Price scored 18 points.
“We did lots of things right in this game,” coach Gore said. “We played well and fine-tuned our defense.”
Nolan Gore and Propps each made the All-Tournament team. Propps also was the all-tournament MVP.
“Paxton, Kolsen Tharp and our bench had a great tournament as well,” Gore said. “The cool thing about this tournament was how everyone stepped up at different times.”
Hydro-Eakly 59, Arapaho-Butler 42
The Bobcats built a 10-3 lead midway through the first quarter, before building a double digit lead and was ahead 19-8 going into the second quarter.
Neither team scored in the first two minutes of the second quarter. Arapaho-Butler slowed the game down, but Hydro-Eakly was ahead 28-16 when Propps blocked a last-second layup. Carter Tharp scored 13 points for Hydro-Eakly in the first half.
Hydro-Eakly opened the third quarter outscoring Arapaho-Butler 12-3. Hydro-Eakly was ahead by 21 points going into the fourth quarter, with the score being 47-26.
Arapaho-Butler outscored Hydro-Eakly in the fourth quarter, but the Bobcats won the game 59-42.
Carter Tharp scored 18 points and Kolsen Tharp scored 11 points. Nolan Gore scored 12 points.
“I was so happy with how our bench played,” Gore said. “This will be big for us in the playoffs. Ryder Klaassen and Trenton Coe gave some great minutes for us also. We played great on defense, which was important because they have some really good players who can score.”
Hydro-Eakly 64, Calumet 60
The first quarter went back and forth, but Calumet had the slight 12-11 advantage going into the second quarter.
Calumet built a double-digit lead in the second quarter. However, the Bobcats outscored Calumet 10-4 to end the first half and trailed 32-30 at halftime.
The Bobcats scored two points early on during the third quarter and Calumet built another double-digit advantage, and was ahead 48-38 going into the fourth quarter.
Hydro-Eakly cut Calumet’s lead to five points before making it a onepossession game. Nolan Gore scored a short jump shot, making it 57-54. He then hit a 3-pointer with 1:53 left in the game, cutting Calumet’s lead to 60-58.
Propps made some plays for Hydro-Eakly down the stretch, which included a block and a steal.
The Bobcats got a stop when Propps got the ball off a steal, and he tied the game, 60-60, when he made a layup, with a little more than a minute to play.
Propps also got a rebound off a missed free throw, and was fouled with 25 seconds left to play. He made both shots, giving Hydro-Eakly a 62-60 advantage. This lead was their first lead since the first quarter.
Propps was not done making plays, as he blocked a shot with seven seconds left in the game.
Hydro-Eakly inbounded the ball and Nolan Gore was fouled immediately. He made them both and Hydro-Eakly won the game 64-60.
“We stepped up and played well in the fourth quarter,” coach Gore said. “Trenton Coe and our bench played well. We showed some great guts and made some big plays to win the game. Carson stepped up well and we stepped up on defense. Good teams do this and I am glad we got the win and won the tournament.”
Propps scored 18 points, Nolan Gore scored 15 points, Price scored 14 points and Kolsen Tharp scored 11 points.
Hydro-Eakly improves to 15-3. They played Minco Tuesday night and hosted Calumet, Friday night for senior night.
“These four guys always step up and play well,” Gore said. “We are excited for senior night. We want to keep getting better and we are building up for the playoffs. We are hoping this tough stretch makes us tougher and helps our playoff run. We are wanting to peak at the right time.”