BY CHARLES CHANEY
El Dorado, Kansas — The El Dorado Wildcats battled back from 15 points down in the third quarter to eventually force overtime, showing a strong heart in the season open against Chaparral in the annual Cheney Classic but all their energy had been gassed on the come back.
Chaparral would prevail in overtime, 65-61.
The Wildcats have a new look, despite four seniors on the roster, they are a young team but they showed some grit in their fight back against one of the better 3-point shooting teams in 3A. Chaparral hit 12 threes in the win on Monday night, while the Wildcats only managed three. El Dorado shot nearly 65 percent inside the three-point arc.
“It took us too long to figure that out,” El Dorado head coach Drew Culbertson said. “I’m proud of the way we fought tonight.”
The last two years, those El Dorado teams when down 15 in the third, might have seen the deficit balloon to a running clock but Zac Jacobs and Co. were determined to not let that happen.
Jacobs scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, finishing with 13 of his 17 in the second half alone. He was able to bully his way around the paint and came away with some free throws and some Plus-ones because of it.
El Dorado didn’t turn it over as much as you’d expect a team playing a handful of sophomores in their first varsity action but players like Jase Peffley rose to the occasion. Peyton Wight was able to attack often and get to the line a bunch on Monday night. One thing you can tell early on, they don’t really lack confidence. In year’s prior, they’d run it through Logan Garner, but he’s playing in college now and this team has to find players who can contribute and we saw glimpses of that on Monday night.
Chaparral (1-0) wasted little time taking threes and El Dorado did everything they could to try and run the Roadrunners off the three-point line. It worked in the fourth but for three quarters, they struggled to keep up with the speedy little guys who could run and shoot.
“I thought we contested some well and make them work for them,” Culbertson said. “We probably gave up too many open ones tonight, too.”
El Dorado saw their first quarter lead evaporate on a 15-0 run from Chaparral but senior Abe Pena hit two of the Wildcat’s three 3-pointers in the second quarter, slicing into the early deficit. Connor Hostetler hit a corner three right before half to put the Roadrunners up, 28-20, at the break.
Then, the fouls piled up and Chaparral went to the line in the third quarter. While they were only 3 of 5 at the line, they were able to turn one of the misses into a second chance 3-pointer and the lead had reached 40-25 with 1:06 remaining in the third.
Then, here came the Wildcats.
El Dorado would go on a 16-3 run over the next five minutes, pulling within 44-43 with 4:35 remaining in regulation. Chaparral was always coming up with key three-pointers but El Dorado had downhill momentum in their favor.
“I wanted them to speed it up,” Culbertson said. “I didn’t think they could guard us very well in transition, and we showed that when we do get in transition, we’re pretty tough to guard.”
Their ability to force turnovers and get to the line helped the Wildcats back in the game.
Wight’s bucket with 1.6 seconds in regulation capped the comeback as they were able to force overtime, tied at 55-all.
Unfortunately in overtime, the Roadrunners were able to hit a couple more threes and get to the line, eventually being too much when you’re trading 2s for 3s.
Jacobs led all scorers with 17 and Same Green had 13, eight in the second half. Jase Peffly had seven and Wight finished with 12 for El Dorado.
That type of scoring showed how diverse the Wildcats can be this season.
“We’re able to be a little bit more balanced,” Culbertson said. “We sure miss Logan scoring ability, but you know that we do a lot less standing of offense. We’re moving a little bit more, trying to play a little faster.”
“We have a bunch of guys playing roles they’ve never played before and we’re just getting used to it right now.”
Chaparral 65, El Dorado 61 OT/F
Chaparral 13 15 13 14 10 – 65
El Dorado 10 10 7 28 6 – 61
Chaparral (1-0): 65
Conn. Hostetler 0 (3) 2-2 – 11; Car. Hotstetler 1 (3) 4-4 – 15; Hadsall 2 (1) 0-1 – 7; Walker 3 1-4 – 7; Dax. Hostetler 2 (2) 3-4 – 13; Struble 1 (3) 1-2 – 12; 9 (12) 11-17 – 65.
El Dorado (0-1): 61
Greene 5 3-3 – 13; Pena 1 (2) 0-0 – 8; Jacobs 5 (1) 4-5 – 17; Peffly 3 1-2 – 7; Riddle 2 0-0 – 4; Wight 4 4-9 – 12. TOTALS: 20 (3) 12-19 – 61.
