By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
The Maxwell Bears hosted the District 5A championship game Saturday evening with the Cimarron Rams, the fifth time these two teams met this season and what a game it was as Maxwell held off Cimarron in OT 46-43.
Coach Eloy Brazil noted the Bears were a running team and that Cimarron has had trouble dealing with the run and gun play. The first quarter of play showed just that as Maxwell played an aggressive game with Tristen Pierce dropping in two 3-pointers and the Floyd brothers adding six points to the mix. As the quarter moved along it was looking like Maxwell would take off dominate the game.
Second quarter action was a total turnaround as four of the Ram starters marked the scorebook and dropped in 16 points to Maxwell’s nine making it an even ball game at halftime with a 22-22 score.
Third quarter saw Cimarron continue the lead as they outscored Maxwell 14-9. However, Cimarron only made one of three free throws in the quarter and continued that trend into the fourth. A fact that come back to haunt the Rams as the game came to and end.
Fourth quarter action saw Maxwell come from behind and outscore Cimarron 10-5. At the end of regulation play missed shots under the basket resulted in a foul on Maxwell sending Cimarron to the free throw line. Both attempts didn’t fall leaving the score tied at 41 at the end of regulation.
The clock was reset to 4:00 minutes and the tip off went to Maxwell who then played a ball control game where they managed to add five points to the scoreboard to Cimarron’s two. As the seconds ticked off the clock Maxwell was up by one 44-43. A foul call sent Orren Floyd to the free throw line for Maxwell where he sank both shots extending the lead to three points. With only a second left on the clock Cimarron attempts a long shot down court that fell short and ended the championship game with a 46-43 win for Maxwell.
Cimarron 6 16 14 5 2 43
Maxwell 13 9 9 10 5 46
Cimarron High Point
John Grassmick 15 3 of 5 free throws
Cameron O’Neill 12 0 of 3 free throws
Free throws 3 of 14 attempts
Maxwell High Point
Tristen Pierce 20 1 of 2 free throws
Orren Floyd 17 4 of 4 free throws
Free throws 8 of 9 attempts
