In a tight game that came down to the final second, the McLennan Highlanders fell to the Cochise Apaches 86-83 on the second day of the Aztec Holiday Classic in Tucson, Arizona.
The game was close from start to finish with 12 ties, 17 lead changes and neither team holding more than an 8-point lead. Mason Lockhart banked a shot off the glass for the Highlanders to begin the scoring, and McLennan led 6-5 with 16:48 to go in the first half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Cochise's Jalen Barbee made it an 11-6 Apache lead less than a minute later. McLennan rallied and took a one-point lead on a Cameron Crockett tip in midway through the half, 17-16. The Highlanders continued to lead by one, 21-20 with 8:14 to go. Jhaden Brown added a pair of free throws, and another Lockhart gave McLennan it's largest lead of the half at five points, 25-20. The Highlanders led 38-37 with two minutes to play but Cochise closed the half with back-to-back 3-pointers by Diego Sharp to make it a 43-38 Cochise lead at the break.
The Apaches opened the second half with a Barbee 3-pointer to take an 8-point lead, it's largest of the day, 46-38. Cochise led by six, 50-44, just three minutes into the half. RJ Foreman went 1-2 from the free throw line to start a 10-0 Highlander run that gave McLennan the 54-50 lead with 13:25 to play. A pair of Sharp free throws for Cochise paused the Highlander run momentarily but McLennan responded with buckets from Nick Shogbonyo and Daylon Dickerson to push the lead to seven at 59-52. Cochise used an 8-0 run capped off with another Barbee 3-pointer to regain the lead at 60-59. The game was tied at 39 with 6:27 to play. A drive by Shogbonyo followed by a bucket and pair of free throws by Dickerson gave the Highlanders a five-point cushion at 75-69 with five minutes to go but it wouldn't be enough. Cochise tied the game at 81 with 58 second s to play. Dickerson added a basket with 31.8 to go, 83-81. Cochise went 5-6 from the free throw line in the final 13 seconds to steal the win.
Nick Shogbonyo led McLennan with 25 points, and Daylon Dickerson added 19. Antwone Gonzales rounded out the Highlanders in double figures with 15.
McLennan: Daylon Dickerson 7 5-7 19; Nick Shogbonyo 7 11-11 25; Jaden Juarez 1 2-2 5; Jhaden Brown 03-4 3; Antwone Gonzales 5 2-2 15; Landon Anderson 0 0-0 0; Cameron Crockett 3 1-1 7; Jaden Walker 0 0-0 0; Russell Foreman 0 1-2 1; Mason Lockhart 4 0-1 8; Totals: 27 25-30 83.
Cochise: Jordan Hernandez 2 2-3 7; Jalen Barbee 6 0-0 17; Joshua Whiteside 2 2-6 6; Diego Sharp 5 8-9 22; Isaiah Smith 0 0-0 0; Tracy Godfrey 3 6-7 12; Gakuto Takano 0 0-0 0; Lewis Woosnam 1 2-2 5; Gytis Auruskevicius 0 0-0 0; Israel Griffin 2 0-0 4; Merrick Small 5 2-2 13; Totals: 26 22-29 86.
Halftime score: Cochise 43, McLennan 38; 3-pointers: McLennan 4 (Gonzales 3, Juarez 1), Cochise 12 (Barbee 5 , Sharp 4, Hernandez 1, Woosman 1, Small 1); Total fouls: McLennan 25, Cochise 25; Fouled out: Lockhart (McLennan), Dickerson (McLennan), Shogbonyo (McLennan); Record: McLennan 11-2.
