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Tigers earn bye in Division II playoffs but will face Hanford for third time on Thursday
Just a few days ago, Lemoore was sporting an 11-0 record in the West Yosemite League with a satisfying victory already over Hanford earlier in the season – in the Bullpups gym no less. Lemoore also managed to beat WYL rival Hanford West twice by big margins, the same Huskie team that beat the Bullpups by three points, thus taking the Bullpups out of championship consideration.
Hanford’s two losses, coupled with Lemoore’s 11-game league winning streak, assured the Tigers of the league title, which they carried proudly into Tuesday night’s league finale, before being surprised by Hanford's 66-54 victory.
And now for the playoffs which began Tuesday night. Fortunately the Tigers had Tuesday night off, due to their first-round bye.
But Hanford had to play, beating Sunnyside 58-51 to set up a historic third game against Hanford tomorrow night (Thursday, Feb. 25) in the Lemoore High School Event Center at 7 p.m.
The Bullpups beat Lemoore last year in the second round and then went on to win a second consecutive Division II championship. To win a third Hanford will have to beat the WYL champions, whose only loss was to the Bullpups in the league finale.
Boys Division II Playoff Bracket
Bullpups end Lemoore's winning streak
But this is high school basketball and like Republican presidential politics, just about anything can happen. Take Tuesday night for example. When Roger Wilson connected on a 3-point shot early in the first quarter, Lemoore led 12-9, and when Hanford’s Jayshon Collins scored and moments later the Bullpups took a 12-11 lead, the Bullpups appear firmly in control of the contest.
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The good news? Despite Tuesday’ disappointing 66-54 loss, Lemoore’s second worse loss of the season (the Tigers loss 103-74 earlier this year to Bullard High School), Coach Joel Sligh’s talented bunch easily won the league title, and will go into the Division II playoffs rated probably second, behind Ridgeview.
Lemoore finished the WYL campaign with a sterling 11-1 record and an overall mark of 23-3. The Division II playoff seedings will be announced Friday afternoon, and the Tigers will most likely host a home playoff game and could very well play the Bullpups again at some point. Hanford beat the Tigers last year in the Central Section playoffs and went on to win the Division II championship.
Hanford finished at 18-7 overall and 10-2 in the WYL.
“We didn’t play a very good game and we didn’t execute,” said Sligh following Tuesday night’s WYL finale. “We didn’t play very well; everything we wanted to do we didn’t do and everything they wanted to do, they did it very well tonight, and that’s about it.”
With the Hanford loss behind them, Sligh will have to get his team ready for the playoffs. “We need to remind ourselves what we’re good at what we do, and what we’re capable of doing and then get back to that. I don’t think a loss is ever a bad thing. We learn from it and take from it what we need to and get better.”
Lemoore’s Allen Perryman did his best to get his Tigers back into the game, most of his damage coming in the second half. Trailing 25-31 at the start of the third period, Perryman scored on an inside layup following a Jerald Campbell theft moments into the second half. Perryman led the Tigers with 18 points 15 in the second half and 11 in the final frame.
Wilson’s third 3-point basket in the game cut the Bullpups lead to 39-34 and Reggie Davis followed with an offensive rebound and a score to cut the deficit to just one point 39-38 with 1:59 left in the third quarter.
A thundering dunk off a fast break by Jaylunn English at the end of the third period once more cut Hanford’s lead to just two points at 44-42 going into the final eight minutes.
The Bullpups, behind Ryan Johnson’s 18 points, just wouldn’t let up on the Tigers and kept them at bay for the rest of the game. Cole Taber had 14 for the winning Bullpups.
On the Tigers’ side, Wilson finished with 11 points, a total that included a trio of 3-point baskets. Davis finished with six points.
