By David Rogers. MORGANTON, N.C. — Watauga took the Northwestern Conference’s first place team to the last 0.4 seconds on Feb. 7, but couldn’t quite pull off the upset, losing 64-62.
The Pioneers trailed most of the game, including a 10 point deficit during the third quarter, but tightened things up and actually took the lead briefly in the final stanza before the Patriots pulled back ahead. With under 15 seconds to play, Freedom had a 5-point lead after a dunk that brought the Patriot fans to their feet, but Watauga’s Jackson Pryor received a long pass down court and launched a 3-pointer from downtown Morganton that found nothing but net to shrink the lead. As Freedom was taking the ball back upcourt and time was ticking down, a mishandled ball ended up in Watauga’s hands. While the buzzer sounded to end the game, a chat among the officials concluded that the Pioneers had indeed called a timeout — but with just 0.4 seconds left on the game clock.
Watauga assistant coach Andrew Wilson said, “At 0.4 seconds, there is time to catch and shoot. At 0.3, it can only be a tap-in.”
Neither scenario worked in the end for Watauga as time expired.
While Watauga’s scoring was spread among several players, Freedom’s Amare Connolly scored 36 points for the Patriots, or more than half of the team’s total. The 6-1 sophomore is listed as a small forward as well as a point guard — and looked both parts in shooting from both inside and outside. Philly Harris, another small forward, had the next most points for Freedom, with nine.
Watauga had three players in double figures, led by Pryor’s team-high 22 points with 14 and 12 points, respectively, added by Grant Morrison and Wyatt Keller.
Keller’s four 3-pointers, including three of them in the final quarter, was critical in Watauga’s keeping the game close.
At the end of the first quarter, Freedom had a 14-11 lead, which they expanded slightly to 34-29 at intermission. At the end of the third quarter, the Morganton team still held a small lead, 46-42.
With the win, Freedom is now 18-4 overall and 8-1 in Northwestern Conference play. The Patriots also secured at least a share of the conference title and, depending on the outcome of second place Alexander Central’s tilt against Hibriten on Feb. 7, may already be assured of the regular season championship if the Cougars lost to the Panthers. Either way, Freedom and Alexander Central will meet in a showdown on Feb. 10, in Morganton.
Watauga falls to 11-12 overall and 4-5 in Northwestern Conference play, but given their narrow loss to first place Freedom on Feb. 7 and after handing the Patriots their only conference loss (98-80) on Jan. 17, the Pioneers may be the most dangerous team on any given night. To close out the regular season on Feb. 10, Watauga will host High Country rival Ashe County in a much anticipated rematch after losing to the Huskies on Jan. 20, in a 70-59 thriller that was closer than the 11 point differential indicates because of late fouling to regain possession.
SCORING SUMMARY
- FRE Amore Connelly (36)
- WAT Jackson Pryor (22)
- WAT Grant Morrison (14)
- WAT Wyatt Keller (12)
- FRE Philly Harris (9)
- WAT Cole Horine (7)
- WAT Wyatt Kohout (5)
- FRE Avery Pollard (5)
- FRE Kobe Johnson (5)
- FRE Dyson Dellinger (3)
- WAT Maddox Greene (2)
- FRE Kayden Lytle (2)
- FRE Gavin McNaughton (2)
- FRE Max Taylor (2)
BONUS PHOTOS
