Sports
Tigers fall to Harker Heights, Ellison in final games
Monday, 25 February 2013 by Tony Adams
Belton High School’s Andre Ewing goes up for a layup during a recent game. The Tigers fell to Harker Heights 60-47 on Tuesday night.KILLEEN-The Tigers were able to hold Malik Hawkins in check when Belton faced Ellison on January 18 at Tiger Gym.
Unfortunately on Tuesday night at Ellison High School for the Tigers, Hawkins got loose.
The Tigers could not stop a very potent Ellison offense from beyond the three-point arc, surrendering 12 three-point baskets, as the powerful Eagles dominated the Tigers 92-46 to earn their first district title since 2004.
Ellison (12-2 in District 8-5A, 27-6 overall) led 28-7 after the first quarter and led 53-25 at halftime. The Eagles extended the lead to 39 at the end of the third quarter and coasted to the win.
The Eagles received 25 points from Hawkins on the strength of seven three-point baskets. James Jessie hit four three-pointers and finished with 17 points. Ellison went 16-for-24 from the charity stripe.
Daniel Mills closed out the 2012-2013 campaign for the Tigers with 18 points. Braden Hammond scored 13 for the Tigers. Belton shot 6-for-10 from the free throw line.
The district cleared itself up following Ellison's win. Along with Ellison, the District 8-5A playoff representatives will be Shoemaker, Harker Heights and Copperas Cove. Cove stunned Shoemaker on a Montre' Williams buzzer beater in overtime 73-72 and the Roos fell to Heights 57-42 to knock Killeen out of the final seed.
The Tigers complete their season in District 8-5A with a 2-12 mark and 8-24 overall, placing seventh in district.
Tigers fall to Knights
The Harker Heights Knights continued their quest towards the Texas 5A Playoffs on Friday night with a 60-47 win over the Belton Tigers at Tiger Gym.
Paced by the torrid shooting of junior shooting guard Cody Halverson, the Knights linked together a 13-0 run to start the ball game. Daniel Mills got the Tigers on the board with 4:00 to play in the first quarter with a mid-range jumper to make the score 13-2. Halverson then engineered a 9-4 run to close out the quarter with 10 points, as Harker Heights led 22-6 at the end of the first quarter.
"If he (Halverson) can keep shooting it like that and the Delaney brothers stay shooting, well it's going to be hard for teams to double our big guys down low," said Heights coach Celenque Bobbitt. "There's going to be less double teams on our guys if they have to concentrate on covering up behind the 3-point line."
The Tigers fought valiantly back to within 12 points at 26-14, with Mills, Braden Hammond, Kyle Battle, Justin McGowan and Jackson McGowan all hitting the scoresheet within the first 3:36 of the quarter. Following a Harker Heights timeout, Daniel Mills traded baskets with Halverson, Andre Hughes, Josh Delaney, and Jeremy Thomas to round out the first half. The Knights took a 37-21 lead in to the locker room.
Hughes and Re'shaun Banks-Henry traded baskets with Mills to start the third quarter. At the 5:58 mark, Heights went on a 9-0 tear to double up their lead at 50-25. The 3:03 run was fueled by Cameron Delaney and Josh Delaney. Mills, Jordan Russell and Thomas Barnes combined for a Tigers 6-0, 2:10 run of their own. But Height's Roderick Taylor let fly with an emphatic dunk to give the Knights a 52-31 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Tigers chipped away at Heights' lead, as Mills, Hammond, Dakota Davis, Jackson McGowan and Juwan Haggins all found the bucket in the fourth quarter. The Tigers closed to within 13 points with 5:58 to play. But Halverson, Taylor, Hughes and Cameron Delaney held the Tigers off and took away a 13 point victory.
"I felt like our guys came out a little bit nervous early but they played hard all night," said Belton coach Charlie Lewis. "I'm very proud of the way they showed up tonight."
Harker Heights (10-3 third place in District 8-5A, 21-9 overall) received 16 points from Halverson, 11 points from Hughes, and nine points from Cameron Delaney. The Knights will host Killeen Tuesday night in a game that could decide the Roos playoff fate, as Killeen and Copperas Cove are tied for the fourth and final playoff seeding. Cove hosts Shoemaker.
"We did some good things but we also have some things to work on," said Bobbitt. "This late in the season, the men should know what they have to do without being told."
Mills scored 22 points for the Tigers.
"Our kids practiced so hard all year," said Lewis, regarding giving the bench players playing time. "I wanted them to get to play in front of their families and get some experience against a really good team."
