Central Downs Mojo in OT, Claims Guaranteed Share of the District Title

ODESSA, TX — It would not be a District 2-6A rivalry without some late-game action and drama, and in the matchup between the Central Bobcats and Permian Panthers in Odessa on Friday night, there was plenty of both. Central led Mojo down to the wire before it took an overtime period to finally decide a winner. The Bobcats emerged victorious and claimed a guaranteed share of the District 2-6A Championship, 67-61.

"My boys, we knew it," an emotional Coach Arsenior Geter said after the game. "If we put all of our trust in God to know that He is going to let us play to our full potential, then, that's it. There are times we could have faltered, there are some bad things that happened along the way, but man, the [Bobcats] work hard...they played their tails off today."

It was a defensive battle in the 1st quarter. Neither team found much success early as the two district rivals felt each other out. The Bobcats shot the ball better than Permian and led 10-6 heading to the 2nd.

In the 2nd quarter, the Bobcats, predictably, ran into foul trouble on the road. Permian is always a tough place to play, as the Bobcats saw their advantage slip away completely. Permian outscored the Bobcats 14-5 in the period to take the overall advantage towards the end of the first half, 20-15. 

The Bobcats came out hot in the 3rd quarter, thanks to a dominant quarter from Ean McNeill. The young man scored four buckets and went 5/6 from the free-throw line to erase the deficit. Permian refused to back down, however, and adopted a new strategy in the second half. The Panthers used several different players to drive the lane, throw up wild shots, and hope for a foul. It was an effective strategy. Permain shot 16 free throws in the 3rd quarter and five in the 4th quarter, to Central's eight in the 3rd and four in the 4th. It was not until the overtime period that the Bobcats finally had more trips to the line than the Panthers.

Late in the 3rd quarter, more drama unfolded. Tempers flared after a Permian player made an "extra-curricular" hit on one of the Bobcats. The Bobcats in question retaliated, and the benches cleared. Seeing that it is always the guy who retaliates who gets punished and not the original culprit, a Bobcat was sent off the court into the locker room. The atmosphere turned incredibly hostile on both sides after that as the officials tried to keep control of the game. After the wild quarter came to an end, the Bobcats and Permian were in a deadlock, 38-38.

Central's superior shooting ability became evident in the 4th quarter and overtime. The Bobcats quickly took the lead in the 4th quarter, and it took a Herculean defensive effort from Permian to stay in the game. Permian tied the game with just over 30-seconds left, but it felt inevitable at that point that the Bobcats would win the ballgame. Ean McNeil, Miguel Zamarron, and TK Taylor made several clutch free throws in the overtime period to put the game to bed. The Bobcats claimed victory, 67-61. 

McNeill led the Bobcats in scoring on Friday with 25 points. Taylor finished just behind McNeill with 22 points. 

"Ean McNeil had a little bit to do with that," Geter said of the OT free-throw shooting. "He said, Coach, when we play Permian, I'm not missing a single free throw, and man did he step up big."

With the win, the Bobcats can now claim an outright district championship when they host the Odessa High Bronchos in the Bobcats' regular season finale next Tuesday. When asked what the Bobcats have to do to secure the district title on Tuesday, Geter did not mince words.

"It's going to take that effort," Geter said, pointing at Permian's court behind him. "We have to 100% lock in and give that effort. We are tough. We are tough to beat. If we do what we do, and do it well, we are hard to beat."

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.\

"We want a 9-1 outright district title," Geter finished. "Let's go get it."