Yellowjackets beat Alvord to remain in playoff hunt
By Robert Morgan | Published Sunday, February 15, 2009
It's been four years since the Boyd High School boys' basketball team made it to the postseason party. If Friday's gutsy performance against rival Alvord is a sign of things to come, this group is ready to get back to the state playoffs.
Despite outscoring the Bulldogs in each of the first three quarters, the final meeting of the season between these two teams was almost even until the final buzzer. The Yellowjackets fought off a big fourth-quarter fight from Alvord to hold on for a 58-56 home victory.
"This was a great game and win for our program," said BHS coach Oscar Hernandez. "We won only five games last year and now we are battling for a playoff spot."
Boyd led by as many as nine points in the third quarter only to see its rival fight back. The Bulldogs, led by a spectacular effort from Benny Malone and Trevor Hahn, bit into the lead by scoring a game-high 18 points in the last eight minutes of the game.
Alvord managed to make it a one-possession game before time ran out on the comeback.
"I am proud of all of our players and credit Alvord - they have a great team, and Trevor Hahn and Ben Malone make that team go," said Hernandez.
The win pushed Boyd to 7-5 in District 9-2A play and 14-14 for the season. Alvord, which slipped out of the playoff picture, sits at 5-7 and 11-13.
The Yellowjackets, who are battling with Millsap for the third and final playoff spot behind Brock and Peaster, traded baskets with Alvord for 32 minutes. They cashed in on a few early miscues by the Bulldogs jump ahead 15-12.
Alvord got into a groove in the second quarter behind the offensive work of Clayton Shaw, Hahn and Malone as they pulled even with the hosts. No lead was ever safe in this meeting and that's why Boyd had to fight for everything it got.
Kyle Stearns and Trent Carter helped fight off the Bulldog attack with some timely baskets created off turnovers. Those extra possessions allowed Boyd to score a game-high 18 points to move ahead by five at halftime, 33-28.
Both defenses tightened up in the third quarter where the fewest points were scored. The change of pace benefited the Yellowjackets as they were about to extend their lead 44-38.
Alvord refused to go away and made Boyd fight until time expired. Justin Meador, Travis Wright, Malone and Hahn were just a few of the contributors in outscoring Boyd 18-14 in the fourth quarter, but falling one basket short of the win.
"This was a hard-fought game, but too many mistakes added up to being two points shorts," said AHS coach Aaron Tefertiller. "We had our opportunities at the end, but could not come up with the bucket. Boyd also did a great job of executing."
Hahn led the Bulldogs with a team-high 13 points, one more than Malone with 12. Clayton Shaw added 11 points of his own, while Meador had nine, Wright had five, and Randall Perez, Heath Andrews and Dylan Barclay had two each.
The Yellowjackets buzzed to another victory behind a game-high 16 points via Stearns. Tim Fleming and Carter posted 11 points each, and Edgar Lugo and Travis Williams had four each.
