By JUSTIN UMBERSON
Register Correspondent
Outmatched and outsized, the Gainesville Leopards (0-2) became the first victim of a Whitewright Tigers team that sported a 28-2 regular season record last year.
The Tigers built up an insurmountable lead over the Leopards and cruised to a 62-53 win on Friday night in Gainesville.
“That is a basketball strong traditional program,” said Gainesville head coach Eric Johns. “That’s why I put them on the schedule. We’re here to play hard teams.
“We’re having a tough time winning right now, but what we are trying to do is progress and take baby steps to where we want to get. I don’t like losing but we did some good things tonight.”
Trying to fight off the ferocious Tigers’ defense, the Leopards had tiny passing lanes to get the ball through. Lead by new head coach Shawn Dalbert, Whitewright seemingly got a hand on every pass, and when they didn’t defenders were waiting to corner Gainesville in other ways.
The Tigers’ offense was equally unstoppable. Their athletic ability allowed them to drive into the paint and make layups at will. And when the Leopards tried to shut that down, they were able to knock down the outside shots as well.
“A good player cannot be guarded by one person,” Johns said. “Our plan was to rotate and help on them. For a while we defended them good outside, but we got tired and our inside rotation slipped and they started getting layups.”
The Leopards fell down by as much as 20 points in the fourth quarter, a time when many teams give up and “mail it in,” Johns said. But Gainesville fought back during the final four minutes, and turned the game into a single digit loss when they hit a 3-pointer as time expired.
Coming off their opening game in which they turned the ball over 16 more times than points scored, the Leopards were able to keep the game respectable by never giving up Johns said.
“The one thing about these kids is they never quit,” Johns said. “As long as I’ve got kids who will play four quarters long, I am going to be proud of that. The shots aren’t always going to fall but they’ll bust their tails.”
The Leopards were able to force fouls and get free throw attempts, but made less than half of their attempts. Going forward, Johns knows the team needs to improve at the line in order to be successful.
“Free throws are so much a mental thing,” Johns said. “It’s not so much about talent; it’s just the mental approach to it. We’ve got to get our minds right.”
For Gainesville, Harold Wills had 19 points, Kenyon Morgan and Guy Bradley both scored 7, Caleb Covington had 5, Denzel Johnson added 4, Patrick Westbrook and Dakota Nichols both scored 3, D.J. Harris and Cody Welch each added 2, and Taylor Tremont had 1.
The Leopard’s schedule does not get any easier going forward, as they head to Denton to face the Ryan Raiders on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Area Sports
November 23, 2009
Leopards fall to Whitewright
- Area Sports
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- Ponder pounds Lady Eagles The Valley View Lady Eagles had a rough outing in District 10-2A play Monday afternoon, falling to Ponder by the score of 18-2 in four innings.
- Whitesboro no hits Lady Leopards to open district play Opening District 9-3A play Monday afternoon, it was the Whitesboro Lady Cats who drew first blood.
- Outlaws improve to 3-3 The Cooke County Outlaws improved to 3-3 in their inaugural season in the Southern Conference of the Elite Football League with a 37-0 victory over the Arkansas Redhawks at home Saturday at Leeper Stadium.
- Valley View boys take second place The Valley View boys track and field teams competed in the Nocona Relays on Thursday.
- Hornet Relays results Held at Muenster High School, March 11
- Lady Cats take home Lindsay Tourney title The Callisburg Lady Cats took home the Lindsay Tournament Championship Saturday night, and did so in extra innings, defeating Commerce 2-1.
- Knights one-hit Callisburg for win The Lindsay Knights one-hit the Callisburg Wildcats for a 5-0 win in Saturday’s conclusion of the Lindsay Tournament.
- Lady Leopards' win punches playoff ticket The Gainesville Lady Leopards scored a pair of goals in each half and cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Wichita Falls Hirschi Lady Huskies Friday, giving the soccer girls the distinction of being the first GHS sports team to qualify for the playoffs this year.
- Lady Leopards mercy rule Muenster In their final tune up game before district play starts Monday, the Gainesville Lady Leopards produced one of their best offensive outings of the season with a 17-2 wins over the Muenster Lady Hornets in four innings Friday at NCTC’s Darwin Fields.
- Hirschi ends Leopards' playoff hopes A soccer season best described as frustrating ended for the Gainesville Leopards Friday with a 1-0 loss at home to the Wichita Falls Hirschi Huskies.
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