WEST POINT – The 1987 West Point boys’ and girls’ teams from 1987 were in the house Tuesday night and witnessed a thrilling varsity game between West Point and Walker, a game that ended up going into five overtimes. The Walker Vikings wound up winning, 80-76.
It did not take long for West Point to put their first points up on the scoreboard as Kolton Sapp scored a few seconds after the tip. Moore then scored off of a Viking turnover to make it 4-0, but Walker's Jarius Williams took over, scoring eight out of the next nine points to put them up, 9-6. Brandon Farley and Toby Cunningham each hit layups that were sandwiched around an Evan Harris three to cut the deficit to two at 12-10 after one.
The second quarter saw each team looking for early momentum, as West Point took their first lead of the game, 15-14, on a James Sullins three. They increased their lead to 22-16 on a Sapp three, but Owen Long helped cut into the lead as he scored five straight points to cut the lead to 24-21. The Warriors' last possession of the first half worked to perfection, as Ryder Jones got a great pass from Austin Dubberly to score just before the buzzer to make it 26-21 at the half.
After layups by each team to keep the deficit the same, West Point's Alex Hernandez went to work, scoring six in a row, to give them a 34-25 lead. Farley nailed a three to give them a 37-26 lead. Isiah Cox and Williams scored the final seven for Walker, but baskets by Farley and Dubberly had West Point looking at a 41-33 lead after three.
Walker went at it quickly to start off the final quarter as Williams started an 8-0 run with a layup and ended it with a and one to tie the game at 41 with 6:18 remaining. After Farley went 1 of 2 from the free throw line to give them a 45-44 lead, off of a Ryder Jones missed free throw of his own, Williams hit a layup to give the lead back to Walker, 46-45, with 1:40 remaining in the ballgame. After each team missed two free throws, Dubberly hit a short jumper with 29 seconds left to give them a 47-46 lead. But Parker Long hit a big three with 15.3 seconds left to give them the lead right back at 49-47. Farley, though, tied the game right back with a layup to send the game to overtime.
Each team went back and forth in the first overtime. Harris hit a layup to give the Vikings a 55-53 lead. But Farley, once again, hit a layup to send the game to a second overtime.
Walker got off to a quick start, going up 59-55. But Farley completed an and one to cut the lead to 59-58. Off of a Walker turnover, Moore hit a huge three from the top of the key to give the Warriors a 61-60 lead with 14 seconds remaining. After Cox split from the line, Farley had a chance to win it, but his shot hit the front of the rim.
A Harris layup gave the Vikings a 66-63 lead, but the Warrior heroics did not stop as Dubberly hit another huge three from the right wing to tie the game at 66, which sent the game to a fourth overtime.
A Parker Long three gave Walker a 71-67 lead, but a pair of free throws from Dubberly and Sapp tied the game once again, at 71, to go to a fifth overtime. And in that overtime, Walker jumped out to a 77-71 lead and this time, there were no ties as West Point ran out of gas in an instant classic.
Walker was led by Williams with 22 points. Parker Long, Harris and Cox all finished with 14. Owen Long had 10 and Walker had five. They will go home to take on Jackson-Olin on Friday night.
Farley finished with a game-high 24 points for West Point. Dubberly had 16 points and three steals and Sapp ended up with 13 points and four rebounds. The Warriors fall to 8-14 on the season and will travel to Fairview on Friday night.
"We had some chances to take advantage, but we did not," West Point coach Randy Jones said. "But I am so proud of this team. They gave it everything they had out there. We just have to continue to work."
West Point 64, Walker 23 (Girls)
After getting off to a slow start in the opening quarter, No. 10 West Point got on the gas pedal in the second, outscoring the Lady Vikings, 20-3, en route to another dominant win.
Five points by Lexi Shadix, four by Olivia Ball, and two each by Miriam Oldacre and Lillie Burdette had West Point up, 13-7, after the first quarter. But the second quarter, the Lady Warriors exploded on offense, outscoring Walker, 20-3, to take a commanding 33-12 lead at the half, and they cruised from there to improve their record to 18-4 on the season.
Micah Oldacre finished with 12 points for West Point as all of her points came from behind the three-point line. Ten total were hit in the game. She also added four rebounds and two steals. Ball finished with 12 points, four rebounds, two steals and a block. Shadix ended up with 10 points, added three rebounds and a block, and Brooke Brownsfield had all of her nine points come from behind the three-point line as well. All but one West Point player found the scoring column. They will travel to No. 9 Fairview on Friday night.
Alexa Waid finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds for Walker, and Tameyah Griffin ended up with six points and four steals. They will head back home to take on Jackson-Olin on Friday night.
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