SPRINGDALE—The Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. boys’ basketball team came back to win against Charles H. Flowers High School after trailing by as many as seven points in a tightly-contested playoff matchup Wednesday night. The Jaguars had a 25-18 lead against the defending state champion Pumas with three minutes left to go in the third […]
SPRINGDALE—The Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. boys’ basketball team came back to win against Charles H. Flowers High School after trailing by as many as seven points in a tightly-contested playoff matchup Wednesday night.
The Jaguars had a 25-18 lead against the defending state champion Pumas with three minutes left to go in the third quarter. Then, Wise sophomore guard Michael Speight went on a personal 7-0 run to tie the game at 25-25 while the Pumas’ defense forced three turnovers in the final three minutes of the third quarter.
Speight and sophomore forward Darron Barnes combined for the final 18 of Wise’s 36 points to push their team forward to a victory.
The credit goes to the defensive mentality of the team, Speight said.
“In the huddle, coach said we were going to have to strap up to win this game,” Speight said. “So we came out aggressive on the defensive end, got a couple of steals and I tried to make some plays for my team.”
Even with Wise advancing to face the Bowie Bulldogs at home after their upset of Eleanor Roosevelt, head coach Rob Garner said the field still remains wide open and anyone can beat anyone.
“In this particular season, who is going to win by 10 or more? That team winning by 10 or more has to be playing out of sight,” Garner said. “We’re going to have to win some close games. We’re going to have to be able to execute in close games. We don’t know what the outcome is going to be.”