The crowd watched the clock in anticipation and excitement, counting down the seconds that remained. As the final buzzer sounded, the court erupted in cheers as Coppell senior guard Colin Griffith scored. 

On Tuesday at CHS Arena, the Cowboys won a thriller, 53-51, against Denton Braswell. 

Braswell led in the first quarter, opening the score with a 3-pointer. Coppell held its own, keeping the scores close. By the end of the first quarter, Braswell led, 13-11. 

Heading into the second quarter, Braswell held onto its lead. As halftime approached, Coppell was unable to narrow the gap. The second quarter finished with Braswell leading, 29-22. 

“We were a little sluggish, I think we played a little uptight,” Coppell coach Ryan Murphy said. “We just didn’t hit them. But I thought our energy wasn’t what it could be.” 

Coppell began its comeback in the second half, starting off the third quarter with junior guard Robert Watson III scoring a layup, bringing the score to 29-24. With four minutes left, Coppell began to catch up. The third quarter ended with Braswell leading 42-38. 

The fourth quarter brought a shift in the game’s momentum. Coppell began to catch up to Braswell, and near the end of the fourth quarter both teams were tied at 51. With three seconds left on the clock, Coppell managed to steal the ball from Braswell, and Griffith scored a layup, earning the Cowboys a narrow victory and second place in District 5-6A.

“I feel like early on they had us in the first half, but I feel like eventually if we trust our work that we’ve been putting in, we’re going to wear them down,” Coppell senior guard Isaiah Fleming said. “We do this every day in practice so it’s really not surprising that in the end we came on top.”

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