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Sports

Whitfield Warriors Rally To Force Overtime, Defeat Burroughs

Boys basketball squad to host District finals Friday.

In the Missouri Class 3, District 6 Boys basketball semifinal at, the third seeded staged a dramatic comeback against the second seeded host Warriors. After rallying from a large deficit, and taking the lead, the Bombers saw the game go to overtime, where they ultimately fell, 64-60 Wednesday night.

A pair of sophomore guards set the tone for the game early on, with Whitfield’s Justin Thomas matching up with Foyesade Oluokun. Oluokun, who led Burroughs in scoring, with 22 points, was strong in the paint in the opening minutes of the game, hitting a pair of baskets, including a fast-break layup following a steal, to help the Bombers jump out to a 10-4 lead.

Forced to the outside, Whitfield turned to junior Darrion Harris, who led all scorers on the night with 30 points. Harris hit two of three consecutive 3-pointers for the Warriors, to take a 13-10 lead with just under a minute left in the first quarter.

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Burroughs was kept off the scoreboard till late in the second quarter, as Whitfield extended its lead to 23-10 behind solid free throw shooting by Thomas and Harris.

A 12-3 run to end the second quarter restored the Bombers’ confidence, as a buzzer-beating sent the teams to the lockers with Whitfield leading 26-22.

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The Warriors turned the Bombers’ late first half rally into a memory by opening up the third quarter with a pair of short-range jumpers. Freshman Trevor Bain drove the lane for Burroughs and then neatly dished to Oluokon, who drew a foul and made one of two free throws to keep the game close a few minutes into the second half.

Whitfield would take their biggest lead of the game, 42-27, at the end of the third quarter, as they overpowered the Bombers in the paint, and capitalized on free throw opportunities.

Down big, and with the season on the line, Burroughs resorted to a full court press early in the fourth quarter. It cut the Whitfield lead to 44-32 with just over five minutes to play. Oluokun then delivered an acrobatic underhanded layup while in mid air to make it a 10-point game.

The Bombers continued to apply pressure as the mid point of the fourth quarter passed. Grant Wallace hit a huge 3-pointer from well beyond the line to make it a 6 point game. Trevor Bain added a short-range jumper, and Wallace converted a pair of free throws on a technical foul to make the score 49-47, whittling the Whitfield lead with just over two minutes to play.

Burroughs then tied the game as sophomore Ezekiel Elliott drew a charge, and then hit both free throws to knot the score at 49. They went ahead on a layup by junior Amos Shinkle.

Down by one with 30 seconds left, the Warriors fouled Oluokun, and he made both free throws to necessitate a big play by the host squad to keep their season alive.

Harris came through with a long-range 3-pointer with two seconds on the clock to tie the game at 54, sending the teams to overtime.

"We struggled with adversity throughout the second half, and we had to make some big shots to stay in the game," said Harris.

In overtime, both teams traded baskets early, and Whitfield attempted to regroup by slowing the pace down. The Warriors went up 59-58 with a minute to play, and then forced a turnover to keep possession. Whitfield connected on a pair of free throws to make it a three point game.

In their final possession in overtime, Burroughs could not match Whitfield's heroics late in regulation, as the Warriors went on to ensure a birth in the District final.

"We stunk it up early, and once we got going we played well, but we played a heck of a game...Wallace became the all-time leading scorer in school history tonight, but it doesn't seem like much of a consolation," said Bombers' coach Steve Wilcutt.

Whitfield will play Orchard Farm for the district title on Friday night at 8 p.m., while Burroughs finishes the season with a record of 15-10.

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