The Wylie East boys basketball team earned a 44-40 win over South Garland on Tuesday. Photo by Elijah Kloepping / C&S Media
By Art Stricklin
GARLAND – Wylie East held off a spirited South Garland rally late in the fourth quarter to earn a 44-40 victory Tuesday night over South Garland, which is the Raiders’ first District 9-6A win of the season.
“We gave the fans their money’s worth tonight, but we have to learn to finish. That has really held us back this year,” said Wylie East head coach Kortney Smith after the nervous victory.
The Raiders never trailed and were tied on a couple of occasions in the first half, but the game was close throughout.
Wylie East, 1-2 in district play and 4-5 overall, had back-to-back turnovers late in the fourth quarter. South Garland, 0-3 in district play and 5-5 overall, was shooting to tie or to take the lead, but missed and Praise Olufemi grabbed the rebound with two seconds left. He was fouled and headed to the other end of the court, where he sank two free throws for the final margin.
For the final quarter, he made seven free throws, which kept Wylie East ahead at the final buzzer.
“It felt good to have a senior leader make some big free throws for us tonight,” said Smith. “He stepped up when we needed him to.
“There are times we show some qualities of a championship team. It’s still a work in progress. We haven’t started district the way we wanted to, but there still are a lot of games left and a long way to go. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Olufemi led all Wylie East scorers with 12 points. Preston Samuels and Josiah Ward both had 10 points in the Raider win.
Wylie East came out firing in the first quarter as its first two baskets were from long range, from Samuels and Ward, respectively, for an early 6-2 lead. They were tied but never trailed in the first half.
Marcus Smith and Ward led the large Wylie East rebounding edge in the second quarter, allowing the Raiders to maintain a slight edge on the scoreboard, but never larger than double figures.
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