Tharptown falls to Meek ending season

By Bart Moss / For the FCT

For the second straight game, a first quarter onslaught doomed the Tharptown Wildcats. Tharptown fell behind the Meek Tigers quickly in their 1A subregion game and never could overcome the deficit, losing 76-54.

“It’s not how we wanted to end the season, but I’m very proud of our guys for never quitting,” said Tharptown coach Shannon Benford. “These seniors love the game of basketball, and I hate to see it end for them but hopefully they’ve learned some valuable lessons they can take with them through life.”

Tharptown played man-to-man defense early on, but Meek was able to drive to the goal, hitting high-percentage shots. The Wildcats switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense, and Meek sank three-pointer after three-pointer.

The end result was a 23-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Meek extended their lead to 27-9 early in the second quarter before Tharptown went to a 2-3 zone defense that seemed to slow down the Tigers. The Wildcats went on a 16-6 run to close out the first half and cut Meek’s lead to eight points, 33-25.

The eight-point deficit would be as close at the Wildcats would get, however. Meek outscored Tharptown 20-10 in the third quarter to take a 53-35 lead into the final quarter before coasting to the win.

Aaron Creasy led Tharptown with 15 points. Edward Lopez and Cole Daniel followed with 12 points and 10 points respectively. Levi McCormack added nine points and Misael Saldana eight points.