Whitehouse Rallies From 20-Point Deficit in Fourth Quarter to Edge Marshall at Wagstaff Classic
TYLER -- For three quarters, not much went right for Whitehouse. Meanwhile, the Marshall Mavericks were hitting seemingly everything in sight.
Marshall backed off its aggressive approach on offense in the final eight minutes, which helped Whitehouse overcome a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter and earn a thrilling 67-66 victory Wednesday at the annual Wagstaff Holiday Classic on the campus of Tyler Junior College.
Whitehouse, which outscored Marshall 24-5 in the fourth, will face Tyler Lee in a Diamond Bracket semifinal at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
“The kids just kept battling," said Whitehouse coach Brent Kelley. "That’s what we talked about at halftime: to keep it a game heading into the fourth, and that’s what we did. We had some things go our way in the fourth, but late-game situations; we work on those a lot."
The Wildcats did not lead in the final period until junior guard Javier Neal's free throw to complete a 3-point play came with 0.8 seconds remaining.
"That play that we scored on at the buzzer, we work on every day in our gameday shootaround," Kelley said. "We had a couple options, and since we were down two, we went with Javier coming off that screen.”
Neal finished with a game-high 22 points (nine in the fourth), and added 11 rebounds and four steals.
Marshall connected on just one field goal in the fourth quarter -- Kris Dunn's runner that gave the Mavericks a 63-43 lead with 7:31 remaining. The Mavericks got to the foul line just four times in the game's final six minutes, and shot only 3-of-7.
“They made some choices in their offense with shot-selection that kinda let us get back into it," Kelley said. "In the first half, they made those shots. But in the fourth, they kept (stalling) and it finally turned our way.”
Whitehouse junior post Jackson Mahomes fueled a 14-1 run that cut the Marshall lead to 64-57 with 4:51 to play. Mahomes, who did not score in the first half, scored 10 of his 14 second-half points in the fourth, and added a team-best 13 rebounds.
“He got in foul trouble early, and he did a good job in the second half playing through that and playing with foul trouble," Kelley said of Mahomes. "He picked up his third early in the third and we left him in. He sparked us and finished at the rim really well, and got us going and got us back into it.”
Neal scored three layups in a little more than minute to trim Marshall's lead to 65-63 with two minutes to play.
With the Mavericks clinging to a one-point lead, Corteze Hurd missed the back-end of a two-shot foul with 12.1 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Neal's ensuing drive to the basket and the game-winning 3-point play.
Hurd finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists for Marshall. Carrington Love had 15 points as well, knocking down five of the Mavericks' 10 3-pointers on the night. Allen Medlock also chipped in with 15 points to go with four boards.
Colby Duhon had 17 points, four rebounds, and three steals, and Whitehouse's only 3-point field goal of the night.
Marshall faces Lindale at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
---
Wagstaff Holiday Classic
At Wagstaff Gymnasium, Tyler
Whitehouse 67, Marshall 66
Marshall 15 26 20 5 — 66
Whitehouse 10 17 16 24 — 67
MARSHALL — Corteze Hurd, 15; Carrington Love, 15; Allen Medlock, 15; Kris Dunn, 7; Salah Smith, 5; Davante Carlisle, 4; Ben Tackett, 3; Swat Lister, 2.
WHITEHOUSE — Javier Neal, 22; Colby Duhon, 17; Jackson Mahomes, 14; Zach Packer, 7; McKade Marquis, 3; Kaleb Ford-Dement, 2; Brandon Bullard, 2.
THREE-POINT GOALS — Marshall: Love (5), Medlock (3), Hurd, Tackett. Whitehouse: Duhon.
Tyler Lee 61, Jacksonville 45
Jacksonville 8 16 13 8 -- 45
Lee 12 17 14 18 -- 61
JACKSONVILLE — Cameron High, 15; Deshawn McCuin, 9; D’Montrey Christopher, 7; Brady Robinson, 6; Josh McDowell, 5; Ashton Melton, 2; Cason McCuin, 1.
LEE — Jalen Smith, 16; Caleb Culver, 14; Kirby Mabry, 12; Bryce Harden, 10; Mike Donnell, 6; Keashun Davis, 3.
THREE-POINT GOALS — Jacksonville: High (2), Robinson (2), D. McCuin. Lee: Culver (4), Smith (2).
Fort Worth Brewer 50, Lindale 35
Brewer 8 11 15 16 — 50
Lindale 9 12 2 12 — 35
BREWER — Pedro Castro, 16; Cortland Blake, 10; Kenneth Harris, 8; Jahrad Taylor, 5; David Woosley, 4; Aaron Lelek, 3; Anthony Rodriguez, 2; Hunter Ellis, 2.
LINDALE — Dillon Heinaman, 9; Colton Brown, 7; Joe Noble, 6; Blane Repinske, 6; Teigan Edwards, 3; Justin Chambers, 2; Gray Pittman, 2.
THREE-POINT GOALS — Brewer: Blake (2), Lelek, Woosley. Lindale: Heinaman, Repinske.
More From East Texas Sports Network
