By John Loop
Sports Writer

After weeks of losing games that came down to the bitter end, the Coppell Cowboys (14-16, 3-4 in District 5-5A) took care of business against the Raiders of Denton Ryan (14-12, 0-7 in District 5-5A) on Senior Night at Coppell High School, 58-43.

Cowboy junior guards Cody Carver and Landon Goesling each had a team-high 12 points. For Carver, it was his first big game since he had scored 16 against Plano East in the season opener.

“Oh man, [Cody] was all energy,” Pehl said. “Deflections, steals, attacking the basket, offensive rebounds, I mean, he was nothing but energy. I am a big believer in the fact that you play as you practice, and he has had a great couple of practices. He has really been focused the last couple of days. The way things shake out, I do not think it is a coincidence that he had a great ball game.”

Before the game, the seven Cowboy seniors were recognized. Playing in their last home game, coupled with a big win, would prove to be an emotional ride.

The first quarter was, as always a defensive battle, with Ryan senior guard Montarius Banks leading the Raiders’ charge. Banks finished with a game-high 13 points.

With Ryan clinging to a one-point lead after one quarter at 9-8, the Cowboys came out and made it competitive in the second quarter behind the play of Carver.

“We started running a new defense and that kind of got me going because I am much more of a defensive guy than an offensive guy,” Carver said. “I got a few steals and got some confidence going to the basket, and it just took off from there.”

Though they trailed by at halftime, Coppell found an offensive rhythm that had been lacking in the second half as of late and outscored the Raiders 15-8 in the third quarter to take a 34-29 cushion into the fourth quarter.

With only four lead changes in the game, three coming in the first half, the Cowboys coasted to a 15-point victory. They got some help form the officiating crew as well, who dealt a technical foul to senior guard Gilbert Jackson in the fourth quarter. Senior guard Calvin Michaelis knocked down two technical free throws to allow the lead to grow even larger.

“It was nice to break one open,” Pehl said. “In our previous game and in the scouting we had done, [Ryan] had shot the ball very poorly from the perimeter. We were going to make them beat us and they came out shooting. The adjustment and the attacking and the trapping, they really did not know what hit them.”

With one minute remaining, Pehl sent senior Everett Schau to the scorers table to check in to the game.

The student section knew exactly what was coming. Schau got the ball underneath the basket, but shot a layup from behind the backboard. A foul was called, and Schau had a chance to net two freebies in his final home game as a senior.

Schau bricked both shots, but the second was knocked out of bounds off of a Ryan player, and Pehl called a timeout to draw up a play for the senior post to get the ball on the inbounds play. Senior guard Walter Munnings threw in the ball to Schau, but Schau could not get a clean handle on it, resulting in a Cowboy turnover.

“We were trying to get him (Schau) a bucket,” Pehl said. “We were trying to get him an opportunity to put the ball in the basket. He has gotten the least amount of playing time of our guys, you know, but he is a captain for a reason. The guys made him that and so we were trying to reward him with a look.”

Bittersweetness hung in the air for the seven veteran seniors as they trotted gallantly off their home hardwood for the last time with a win.

“It was a lot of excitement playing my last home game at home,” senior post Patrick Barden said. “It means the world [to me], with all of the fans coming out and supporting us. This game was something that I will remember forever. I am glad we won, but we have got to move on to the next one and prepare for Lewisville.”

Pehl had something to say to the seniors as well.

“When you are a kid, you know, the end of a road never really occurs to you that it might actually show up,” Pehl said. “When it does, then it is a little surreal. It was emotional [in the locker room] I was really happy that all of them got make a contribution.”

The Cowboys now look to keep their two-game win streak alive as they travel to their next matchup at Lewisville (14-9, 4-3 in District 5-5A) on Tuesday night.