Raccoons pester Wolverines in OT thriller

Your Wakeland Wolverines lost another close district game this past Tuesday night in overtime to the Frisco Raccoons by a score of 60 to 58. The Raccoons jumped out on the Wolverines in the first quarter of play, 15-7, but the Wolverines rallied together to cut the deficit to just four points leading into the locker room at half. However, the Wolverines revved up their engines in the third quarter and found themselves up by two with only one quarter to play. Wakeland stepped up the defensive pressure in the fourth and caused some untimely turnovers for the Raccoons, but their inability to finish at the rim with light contact came back to haunt them. Frisco hit a three with :20 seconds to go in regulation to go up by two, however under the leadership of Sean Watkins, he calmly hit a jumper from the left elbow to send the game into OT. Once again, it was back and forth in the extra period, which Frisco found themselves up by three possessions with just a little over a minute to play. Wakeland was able to make Frisco turn the ball over once again, and found themselves down by just two with a little over :10 seconds to play. The Wolverines went for it all and set up Raccoon killer, Sean Watkins off a series of screens for the buzzer beater from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, this year, the ball rimmed in and out, which ended in a loss for Wakeland. Varsity Assistant Coach Marty Tidwell commented to the Frisco Insider, "obviously we are bummed about the loss, but our kids stuck with the game plan and played their hearts out, we are extremely proud of them!" Sean Watkins led the Wolverines in scoring with 17 points, 4 steals, and 3 assists. Anthony Grayson added 15 points and 3 assists while Jimmy Wilkins scored 9. Sean Antonelli and Noah Harmon controlled the glass with 5 boards a piece. The loss takes Wakeland's overall record to 9-11, while managing a 2-4 start in district play. The Wolverines have a must win game against district favorite, Heritage on Friday night to finish the first round of district play. It will be Middle School Night during the varsity girls and boys games, so you might want to get there early because it will be standing room only. Go orange and blue!

Photos by Ms. Hernandez