16.2 seconds on the clock remain. The Coppell boys basketball team trails by two, and need a quick bucket to tie or win the game. Junior guard Bryce Ward inbounds the ball to 6-7 junior center Ethan Macken.
A race ensues as senior guard Gabe Pehl beats Hebron’s defense to the ball. Macken tosses it back to Pehl and the fadeaway three is drained with 10.2 on the clock.
“I mean the guy can shoot,” Macken said. “I held on to the ball long enough for Gabe to get around the defense and it paid off.”
The crowd went crazy as a Senior Night came to a close, 48-46, in a Coppell win on Tuesday at CHS Arena.
“I already had missed one shot and luckily we got the ball back and I had another chance,” Pehl said. “I didn’t expect coach to call my number but he did even after a couple of costly mistakes.”
The game started out slow for Coppell as it had no answer for Hebron’s physicality. After going down 17-5 after the first quarter, Coppell coach Clint Schnell decided it was time for a change.
“We had just been running screen and set plays which they had primarily figured out pretty quickly,” Schnell said. “I turned to a more motion–based offense to where we had isolations and more shot opportunities.”
With the season on the line, Coppell wouldn’t go down without a fight. Going on an electric 15-4 run in the second quarter brought the game to one point going into halftime.
With the Hebron lead cut to 21-20 at halftime, Coppell was hyped and ready to go.
“Going into halftime on a high note is always a positive thing,” Pehl said. “We knew we wanted it more and that they were going to give us a fight coming into the second half.”
With Coppell riding momentum, it went on another run, and the offense started to click. With the score mounting, Coppell was up 38-31 going into the fourth.
“That third quarter was crucial,” Schnell said. “Not only did we have a cushion, but we had enough to stop the bleeding when it came.”
And the bleeding arrived in the fourth as Hebron took a two-point lead with 36.2 seconds.
With Coppell still in the District 6-6A hunt to advance to the Class 6A playoffs, it needs to keep winning.
“Obviously this win hypes us up because it keeps our season alive,” Schnell said. “As long as we are in the hunt to make the playoffs, we have as good a team as anyone out there, and we are going to show it.”
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