Photo courtesy of Charla Shults
Senior Dalton Booth had struggled all night shooting the ball while working through a banged up shoulder, shooting 4-17 on the evening. But when the Pampa Hustlin’ Harvesters (22-12) needed it most, he came in clutch, sinking a three in the waning seconds of Pampa’s Bi-District Championship Round of the playoffs to give his team the 55-54 win against Midland-Greenwood.
“Dalton just couldn't get anything to go in last night offensively,” Head Coach Braydon Barker said. “He played great defense and also had six assists so he did not play a bad game overall by any means. That was such a huge shot he made with two defenders in his face in the final seconds.”
The win comes as the second Bi-District Championship in as many years for the Pampa Harvesters.
“Before last year, it had been several years since we had won a gold ball so they have really brought this program to where it needs to be,” Barker said.
The squad this year has 10 seniors, many of whom were on last year’s team.
“I am extremely proud of these seniors to be able to win the Bi-District Championship in back to back years,” Barker said. “I hope they never take for granted how hard it is to win a gold ball in 4A basketball, especially in our region.”
While they may not see the court that much, the Harvesters had a couple of younger guys from junior varsity were called up.
“I brought up Jeryn Owens, Dage Scott, and Cache Kidwell for the playoffs off the JV,” Barker said. “It is great for them to see what a playoff atmosphere is like as young guys that we will be relying on after these 10 seniors graduate.”
The Harvesters had a 19-9 lead after one, and continued to lead heading into the locker rooms at halftime 31-28. Greenwood had the upper hand in the third quarter, taking the 40-39 lead, setting the stage for a showdown in the fourth quarter. Greenwood eventually took a 10-point lead in the fourth, but the Harvesters rallied and overcame the deficit to take the win 55-54 after Booth’s go-ahead three.
The Harvesters now look ahead to Friday when they travel to Seminole for the Area Round of the playoffs against Clint. This game will be broadcast on YouTube and 103.3 FM.
“Clint won their playoff game by 20 so they are playing really well,” Barker said. “They are one of the bigger El Paso teams I have seen as far as the size of their guards, so we are going to have to show up and play really well to beat them.”
Stat Roundup
Sophomore Talan Garcia had 12 points, went 4-8 in free throws, had 10 rebounds, two assists, three deflections and three steals; Senior Parker Webb Had 12 points with five rebounds, three assists, one deflection and one steal; Senior Jose Alonzo had 10 points, had a three, went 1-4 in free throws, had five rebounds, two assists, two deflections and three steals; Senior Dalton Booth had nine points, had a three, seven rebounds, six assists, five deflections and five steals; Sophomore Aaron Martinez had eight points, went 4-7 in free throws and three deflections; Senior Conner Hall had one assist; Senior Keegan Upton had one rebound and two deflections; Sophomore Jeryn Owens had four points, one rebound, five deflections and four steals; Senior Tristan Bagwell had three rebounds, one assist, two deflections and one steal.