With no time left in regulation during the District 19-5A match up between Stratford and Aldine, the Spartans were at the line after being fouled on a three-point attempt. Stratford was down by two and had three fouls shots to take the win.

When two were made, the Mustangs took full advantage during the overtime and earned a 66-64 win over Stratford.

“Well it was real simple: we got a second chance let’s capitalize on it,” Aldine coach Zeke Smith said. “The miss was meant for us to win the ball game. We came out fast and got a quick lay-up. Overall we overcame and we didn’t take any bad shots in overtime.”

By looking at the scoreboard throughout the game, it was the Stratford running the table the entire night. After the first and second quarters, the Spartans owned an 8-point lead respectively.

With Stratford guard Blake Kelting leading the way with 15 first-half points, it seemed like the Spartans were going to take this one handedly. But Aldine had other plans.

“When we went in at halftime I told them we haven’t played 2 minutes of 16 minutes of good basketball and you are only down eight,” Smith said. “In the second half I knew we would not continue to miss all of these easy shots. We started applying a little pressure because Stratford has some pretty good guards.”

And the Mustangs responded. After being down by double digits, Aldine went to the full-court press and went on a run to tie the game up at 35. The fourth quarter was a basket-for-basket competition with the lead changing after nearly every possession.

But then Smith’s senior guards stepped in and starting making some impact.

“In the first half I was trying to get my teammates involved so I could conserve myself for the second half,” Aldine guard Brandon Williams said.

Williams scored a handful of Aldine’s 19 fourth-quarter points by attacking the basket on drives. But it was in overtime when he turned the game up to another level.

The Mustangs quickly scored on the inbounds and never looked back. Stratford’s Antoine Hicks tied the game up with a three-point basket with 20 seconds left in overtime. But in the end, it was Williams who sealed the Mustangs’ victory.

“I already had made up in my mind I was going to make the shot,” Williams said. “I was determined and we were not going to come out and lose because they beat up the first time at home so we had to come back and beat them here. We were in the mindset that if they give us a second chance, let’s go ahead and get it over with.”

Aldine’s point leader was Williams with 19 points. Donald Boston and Benjamin Neal each chipped in 14 points. For Stratford, Kelting led all scorers with 23 points. Sterling Dailey added another 11 points and Tevin Kelly and Hicks each had 10.
 

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