By Kevin Lonnquist
NTX Varsity Sports Columnist
A regulation high school basketball game spans 32 minutes. That’s 1,920 seconds.
If basketball games were decided by the amount of clock time where one team had the lead, the Paradise Panthers would have been run off the court in their Class 3A Division II state championship game on March 13.
The amount of time the No. 2 Panthers had the lead was for 33 seconds or 0.017 (1.7%) percent in their meeting with No. 5 Palestine Westwood in San Antonio’s Alamodome.
But they were the right 33 seconds. The final 33 seconds. A Max Jordan turnaround jumper with that time remaining and some fortune gave the Panthers their first state title, a 52-51 victory.
For as much as the hill seemed frustrating to climb, head coach Bo Rickner’s team never wavered from the pursuit, especially when it began the fourth quarter trailing, 38-34.
“The guys did a good handling their composure,” Rickner said. “They locked into the intensity. It was only a two-possession game. We could make that up at any point. We just had to stick with what we were doing and make it tough for them. We felt good about it.’’
While the Panthers could only tie the game once, the important element is that they never let the game get away from them. Westwood’s largest lead was only nine, which was late in the second quarter.
Pace of play meant everything for Paradise. It’s natural to think that would start with defense. However, Rickner preached in the days before offensive pace would disclose the Panthers’ chances.
Turn the game into a 47-foot affair and not the 94-foot sprint Westwood craved. Those Panthers were a team that averaged nearly 86 points per game. The kind of team where multiple fast break opportunities could snowball and turn games into blowouts.
Play patiently. Turnovers needed to be dead ball turnovers. All of it had to start with sophomore guard Creek Gibson running the offense against an intense man-pressure scheme. Older brother and point guard Cash was limited to only a couple of minutes because of a bad ankle.
The simple task of bringing the ball up court was not so simple. But once Gibson managed that and got help with screens to allow him to maneuver, the Panthers could get into their offense. He finished with five assists and just three turnovers.
“That was a big concern without Cash being available,’’ Rickner said. “But Cooper [Jones] and Max set some screens in the backcourt to ease the pressure. Creek did a great job of protecting the ball. And he got us into good sets to get good shots, whether it was a kick for a 3-pointer or Max down low on the back side.”
Everything was working. But shots weren’t falling. Paradise shot just 27.6 percent for the first half and made only one 3-pointer. And yet the Panthers were down just 25-18. Westwood’s point total was considered a win.
The Panthers chipped away at the deficit in the third. More importantly, their goals remained in front of them.
However, the beginning of the period started poorly. They fell behind 43-36 with 6:16 to play on a Kavian Bryant 3-pointer. But that turned out to be Westwood’s last field goal.
The final 90 seconds defined this come-from-behind championship. Down 51-47 on two Bryant free throws, the Panthers arguably came up with the second biggest basket of the season. A Jones 3-pointer cut it 51-50 with 55 seconds remaining.
Then Rickner used a little trickeration.
“I didn’t feel a shift in their emotions one way or the other late,’’ Rickner said. “They were locked in. Executing the game play. I told them when we scored [on Jones shot] that I wanted them to roll the ball to me, so I could get a delay of game warning. I was begging for it.’’
Well, the ball did go to Rickner. He stood holding it in front of his bench. That created some confusion. Westwood called timeout.
From there, Paradise’s Wyatt Sanders came up with the steal. The sequence ended on the biggest basket in Paradise history, Jordan’s five-footer. The last of his game-high 29 points.
Fortune then followed. Westwood’s Kaden Bryant missed the go-ahead jumper with 14 seconds. And although Sanders missed his two free throws with five seconds to play, Westwood could not secure the rebound and turned it over with eight-tenths on the clock.
Rickner’s timeout indicated that he wanted a long downcourt pass and just for someone to touch it to end the game. However, there was a miscommunication. The inbounds pass was thrown short. Westwood’s Bryant grabbed the loose ball, but his 3-pointer was wide.
“I think the Henrietta game [state semifinal Paradise won 38-35 on Jones’ walk-off 3-pointer] and the close games we played last year and this year were huge,’’ Rickner said. “They had the experience. That’s where you need the mental toughness.
“They never faltered in adversity. It’s a validation. We have a great community. This showed state championships are possible.’’
Seconds counted. Paradise’s 33 with the lead were a result of staying patient, disciplined and confident through the first 1,887 seconds when the scoreboard never favored it.
Thanks to those elements, the bigger piece of hardware returned to Wise County. Unlike last year’s bus ride following the loss to Kountze, this return trip home felt shorter.
The community celebrated with victory parade on Thursday.