Argyle boys overcome shot to end regulation, pull off road win in OT
By Cody Thorn
GRAPEVINE - Grapevine got the shot it needed to fall in the waning seconds of regulation.
When the same scenario presented itself in overtime, the shot missed and Argyle got a critical rebound.
That, in a nutshell, summed out the sequence that allowed Argyle to exit with a 67-64 win in overtime against the Mustangs at Grapevine High School.
A competitive 4-5A contest was sent to overtime by a 3-pointer from senior TJ Gigowski, his second basket of the game, which came with 2.1 seconds left.
Argyle got a shot off at the buzzer but it missed, sending the game into an extra five minutes of action.
“They didn’t change their expression,” Argyle coach Russell Perkins said of his team's reaction to playing extra minutes. “I didn’t do a very good job of coaching that last possession to let them get the 3 off. But you know, our kids kept playing.
"We executed really early at the start of overtime to get a couple of buckets.”
Jayson Demcher had a dunk early in OT and the Eagles (22-8, 5-5) took advantage of a goaltending call as well, which broke a tie and made it 63-60.
“It is the reason we won the game,” Argyle guard Jett McCasland said of the fast start. “It is all about swings, and to get momentum with five minutes in overtime is what gave us the win.”
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After going scoreless for almost two minutes, Grapevine (18-11, 7-3) got a 3-pointer from senior Antoine Almuttar with 48.3 seconds left to pull within two, 65-63.
With a chance to tie it with 32.8 to go, Grapevine got one of two free throws, but two misses by Argyle with 25.5 left kept the Mustangs’ chances alive.
Gigowski got a chance to send the game into another overtime with less than three seconds left, but his shot hit the rim and Kash Polk rebounded it for the Eagles. He hit two free throws with 2.5 seconds left to seal the win.
McCasland led the Eagles with 21 points, including seven of his team’s 11 points in the fourth.
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Freshman Johnathan Lungeni tallied 16 and the combination of him and McCasland combined for all seven 3-pointers for the Eagles.
The duo helped the Eagles rally from a 15-5 deficit early in the first quarter to ultimately taking the lead in the second quarter. McCasland hit a 3 to tie the game at 29-all and by halftime, the visitors led by four, 39-35, after Lungeni’s bucket with 0.5 seconds remaining.
Grapevine’s freshman sensation David Coe helped the Mustangs rally in the third, and his free throw with 8.8 left in the quarter evened it at 46-all going into the fourth.
Coe and classmate Armon Almuttar helped Grapevine take a 50-46 lead early in the fourth, but Argyle rallied to go up four, 54-50, behind buckets from Demcher and McCasland.
Coe finished with 21, while Easton Hockenjos added 10.
The Mustangs and Eagles both struggled at the free-throw line, going a combined 29-for-68 after a four-day layoff due to weather. Grapevine made 9-of-22 attempts and the Eagles were 20-of-46 - including going 5-for-11 in the fourth and in overtime.
“We have played them before and we’ve very familiar with each other,” Perkins said “Everybody in our district is so tough that you just have to show up every night.”
The next chance is Saturday against Denton Ryan in another district contest, which will follow the girls’ game.
Girls
Argyle 61, Grapevine 19
It is almost fitting that win No. 23 in a row came on 2-3-23 for the Lady Eagles.
The No. 5-ranked team in Class 5A rolled to a victory in the first game of the doubleheader on Friday.
A 3-pointer by junior Gabby Campbell only 11 seconds into the game and on the first possession gave Argyle (28-3, 12-0 in 4-5A) the lead for good, and was the start of a barrage of treys.
Argyle drained five 3-pointers in the first quarter and took a 22-2 lead after the opening frame after a 19-0 run to close the quarter.
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“I thought we shot the ball really well from the very beginning,” Argyle coach Chance Westmoreland said. “Gabby, Madi (Lumsden) both got hot and we had kids hit 3's all night long.
"That was good to see, the 22-2, it kind of set the tone.”
Like most teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the weather kept them out of school and practice since Monday night. Argyle had a shootaround at 2 p.m. before heading down to Grapevine for the game.
Argyle hit two more 3's, and had an old-fashioned three-point play from sophomore Kennedy Hafer on a layup made and free-throw conversion after the foul.
At halftime, Argyle led by 26, 31-5, and the advantage grew to 44-9 after three quarters.
Grapevine’s deficit grew to 40 after Argyle got a 3-pointer from Reese Crabtree and a layup by Ashlin Crabtree in the opening minute-plus of the fourth, making it 49-9.
Grapevine didn’t get to double-digit points until a layup from Cece Cerone with seven minutes left to play. She had a team-high seven points.
Argyle finished with 10 2-pointers and 12 3-pointers in the win.
Lumsden, an Angelo State signee, had a game-high 17 points and hit five treys. Campbell finished with 11 points and had three 3's.
The Lady Eagles improved to 9-0 in road games and beat Grapevine for the second time this season. On Jan. 10, the Eagles rolled to a 75-26 victory.
Argyle plays Denton Ryan on Saturday for the district championship and has already at least secured a share of the title. Ryan - ranked No. 19 in the poll - has one loss and will need to beat Argyle.
