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The Katy Tigers hosted the Morton Ranch Mavericks Tuesday night in a game that would turn out to be a nail biting finish.
The offenses had similar styles of play but came at different times. The Mavericks were attacking the lane aggressively in the first half, while the Tigers set up their offense and worked the ball around the top of the key. Although the Mavericks were attacking the lane, they had trouble knocking down some close range shots. However, their aggressive rebounding allowed them to hold a 25-22 lead going into half.
The Katy defense stepped up in the second half forcing the Mavericks to stay out of the paint and work the ball around in a half court offense. It was the Tiger offense that penetrated the lane in the second half, but like the Mavericks they struggled to knock down some close range shots.
There was very little scoring throughout most of the third quarter, but the Mavericks made a late surge as they drained a couple of three pointers and a close range jumper. The late third quarter push by the Mavericks gave them a 37-28 lead going into the fourth period.
The Tigers came out focused in the final quarter and realized their task at hand. They pulled together and slowly chopped away at their deficit to bring the game within striking distance. As foul shots plagued the last minutes of play, the game would come down to a few key possessions by both teams.
Holding on to a four-point lead and possession of the ball with only a minute remaining, the Mavericks looked favored to win the game. It was then the Tigers stepped up defensively and forced a huge turnover. The Katy offense then stepped up big knocking down a shot to bring the game within one point. 48-47.
The Tigers quickly fouled and forced the Mavericks to the line with 13 seconds remaining. Morton Ranch converted one of two free throws giving them a two-point lead. The Tigers would have one last chance to either tie the game with a two pointer or secure the victory with a three-pointer. As it looked like the Tigers would tie it up with a successful two-point shot, the referee signaled timeout by the Katy bench, which negated the basket.
Katy put the ball back in play with five seconds remaining and senior guard C.J. Lawson received the pass from team captain Adrian Rivera and drained the final shot from behind the arc to give Katy a 50-49 victory.
Top scorers for the Tigers were senior guard C.J. Lawson who posted 11 points and senior forward Michael Welch who dropped in 10. Leading the way for the Mavericks was senior center Devin Finn with 13 points while teammate Preston Williams added 11.
Katy will travel across town to play Cinco Ranch on Friday as the Mavericks take the rest of the week off traveling to Alief Hastings next Tuesday.
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