SAN ANGELO, TX. — In the second night of Area Round play for boys high school basketball teams around the Concho Valley, Christoval punched their ticket to the regional quarterfinals thanks to an overtime victory over Wink, while Robert Lee fell to Buena Vista in overtime.
In the opener at Garden City, the Christoval Cougars, for the second playoff game in a row would need overtime to top Wink 67-63. The Wildcats would force overtime thanks to two free throws with seven seconds left, but a bucket late in OT by Christoval’s Jaron Slaton would be the difference.
“We just never stopped fighting, we just stayed after it. These kids worked so freaking hard for this, they never stopped, they never got down they just kept going, and going and going and that’s what it takes to win right there,” said Cougars head coach Matthew Lowry.
“It means a lot for this community, everyone behind us, and all these young guys I want to give them something to be proud of. Regional qualifiers last year, lost in the regional finals but our goal is to get back there and just do it one game at a time and that’s what we are doing,” said Slaton.
Christoval advances to the regional quarterfinals next week to take on fifth-ranked New Home. The date and time of that game is TBA.
In the nightcap at Garden City, despite leading for the majority of the game, the Robert Lee Steers fell to Buena Vista Tuesday night in the Area Round 52-40.
The Steers would lead by 10 at the half but would tie the game up late in the fourth quarter to send it to overtime. In the extra session, the Longhorns would outscore the Steers 16-4 to win it 52-40.