By Alexandra Dalton 
Staff Writer
With the tip off marking the start of the game against Plano East at exactly 8:04 p.m., Cowboys showed from the get-go they were ready to fight.
Though the Panthers won the tip, Coppell won the game, 57-52. Senior forward Josh Feitl led the Cowboys in scoring with 17 points. Feitl was followed closely by senior guard Brandon Watson who chalked up 15 points of his own.
Feitl started the game with last season’s same sweet shooting stroke, hitting two three pointers on Coppell’s first two possessions for the first six points of the game.
A foul by senior shooting guard Brett Kuechler on Panther junior shooting guard Isaac Asrat with 1:54 remaining brings the score to 13-6. Asrat gets put on the free throw line again by senior post Chad Kaiser, closing the gap at 13-11.
With 27 second in the first quarter, senior post Simi Socks puts a free throw in and going for the putback on his missed second shot, Feitl gets fouled and puts another free throw in, making the score 15-11.
On the next trip down, Socks slides past all of the defenders for a buzzer beater layup that ends the first quarter with 17-11.
A turnover caught by senior guard Landon Goesling who makes a cross court pass to senior guard Brandon Watson who sinks in a three pointer at the top of the key, assuring the lead. The another free throw by Asrat of Plano East puts the score at 23-18.
With three minutes left in the half, freshman shooting guard Sam Marshall makes his debut with a three pointer that makes the Coppell student section shout “We love freshman”, honoring his age.
A post move by Kaiser who misses, but the put back is in the hands of Feitl puts up two points. Next Watson takes on and gets another two points on the board. This ends the half with the score of 30-26, the cowboys with a short lead.
After cruising to a 30-26 lead at halftime, missed free throws killed the Cowboys in the second half. In the end, those same free throws helped the Cowboys for their own side of the scoreboard, gaining the points they needed for the win.
Coppell continued to hinder the Panthers’ offensive output throughout the night, though allowing junior guard Isaac Asrat to pour in 20 of Plano East’s 52 total points.
20 seconds into the second half, Watson fouls Asrat of Plano East, who puts in the first points of the half with his two free throws. An inbounds pass by Kuechler to Socks lets Socks put in a floater which makes the score change to 32-31 with three minutes left in the quarter.
A pass from Marshall to Feitl who fumbles is quickly recovered by Kaiser who makes a bank shot. More fouls on East’s Asrat of caused a change in points the Panthers lead 35-38. An assist by Kaiser to Feitl causes a layup with only six seconds left. This ends the third quarter.
After four fouls in the first three quarter putting a stop to his abilities, Goesling turns up his game in the fourth quarter. The first cowboy point in the final quarter is by Goesling, who shoots at the top of the key, making his first points. An assist from Goesling with 4:15 left in the quarter to Kuechler who gets fouled puts him on the line.
His two buckets help the Cowboys in a comeback with the score at 44-46. Another foul on Feitl put him on the free throw line with 3:47 in the quarter, and he makes both of his shots evening the score 46-46.
Going up for his second attempted layup in that trip down the court Watson makes his layup putting the score at 50-46, only a four point game with a little over a minute left in the game.
Put into one and one Watson puts in two free throws with 40 seconds left in the quarter, then his teammate Watson scores like him putting the score at 56-50. The final play of the game is with 6 seconds left as Socks shoots a lane shots that ends the score at 57-52.
