HEREFORD — The Pampa Harvesters (16-5, 1-1) traveled to Hereford on Tuesday evening and overcame a 12-2 start in the game and stunned the Hereford Whitefaces with the late 45-43 win.
“I just told the guys to stay calm,” Head Coach Braydon Barker said. “Hereford’s defense kind of makes it helter skelter and you’re kind of rushing it a little bit. It’s hard to get into a rhythm. We had some turnovers but we didn’t have an over-whelming amount. We made some big free throws, some big shots. It was fun. Obviously, more fun that we won.”
The Harvesters slowed the Whitefaces down after that 12-2 start with a three from senior Cason Floyd. Hereford answered with a lay-up before junior Huston Skinner got a basket and junior Chris St. Cyr went 2-2 from the line. After one, the Harvesters had cut the 10-point gap in half at 14-9.
St. Cyr took over the game in the second half, leading the Harvesters on an 8-4 run to pull Pampa within one at 17-18 with 3:40 left in the half. Floyd and freshmen Julian Alonzo added points before the end of the half and Pampa trailed 21-23 going into the locker room.
“That was big for us in the first half (they got into foul trouble),” Barker said. “It put us on the line and we got a lot of points in the second quarter from free throws. We just tried to limit their paint touches and closed out on the shooters and rebound.”
In the third, St. Cyr hit a basket and converted a traditional-three-point play within seconds of each other and tied the game at 26-26 with 5:29 left in the third. Hereford continued to hold off the Harvesters’ surge, answered each point with one of their own. Trailing 34-28, Alonzo hit a three at the buzzer to keep the deficit at one possession 34-31.
“Those two freshmen, Julian Alonzo and Sawyer Burleson, this was Julian’s first varsity game today. They had a big job two ask in this hostile atmosphere. But Julian stayed calm and made a big three, Sawyer handled the ball well. Out of necessity we brought them up and they stepped up.”
Floyd and sophomore Hector Villanueva led the Harvesters on a 5-0 run early in the fourth to give Pampa the 36-34 lead with 7:15 left to play.
Again, Hereford answered followed by a 4-0 run with a bucket from Skinner followed by a pair of free throws by the junior. Hereford battled back into it, taking the 43-40 lead halfway through the quarter before a pair of baskets by St. Cyr gave Pampa the 44-43 lead. Villanueva knocked in a free throw and it was a two-point 45-43 game in the final moments. A shooting foul sent a Hereford player to the line, who couldn’t knock in the first free throw, setting it up for the pivotal ensuing rebound. Senior Hunter Nichols fielded the rebound and Pampa had knocked off Hereford.
“We had a tough loss on Friday,” Barker said. “We had an 11-point lead and let it slip away. I felt the way they responded today was huge. We trailed 12-2 in the first quarter today so they showed a lot of heart and fight today coming back to take this win.”
The Harvesters look to keep the momentum rolling and move above .500 in District play when they host Canyon on Friday. Game time is at 7:30 p.m.
“They’re big and play really good defense,” Barker said. “They have two or three guys that are 6’5’’ and 6’6’’ and have guards that can shoot it. But if we play like we did today, I think we have a good chance.”
Unofficial stats
Chris St. Cyr led the team in scoring with 17 points and was 3-3 in free throws; Cason Floyd had 11 points, had two threes and was 5-6 in free throws; Huston Skinner had eight points and was 2-3 in free throws; Hector Villanueva had five points and was 3-4 in free throws; Julian Alonzo had four points with a three and was 1-3 in free throws.
As a team, Pampa shot 14-19 (73 percent) in free throws.
