The McLennan Highlanders battled to the last minute before falling to the Collin Cougars 82-78 at The Highlands.
Collin took the early lead at 6-3 with 18:26 to go in the first half. McLennan took control with an Antwone Gonzales jumper that ignited a 15-0 Highlander run, highlighted by eight points by Gonzales and five by Daylon Dickerson, to break the game open, 18-6. Collin slowly chipped away at the Highlander lead, pulling within two on a Kameron Johnson bucket with 3:05 to go in the first half, 40-38. Another Dickerson basket and a Jaden Walker layup made it 44-38 McLennan lead but Jarron Drayton added a 3-pointer for Collin with 30 seconds to go to make it a 44-41 Highlander lead at the break.
Collin continued to rally in the second half, taking the one-point lead at 49-48 on a TJ Thomas free throw with 16:07 remaining in the game. The Highlanders put together a 5-0 run to go back up by four, 53-49. The Cougars pulled within one multiple times in the next five minutes of play before tying the game at 63 with just over six minutes to play. After trading baskets, Collin took the 67-65 lead on a pair of Thomas free throws with 5:19 to play. Those free throws started a 6-0 run for the Cougars to give them the 71-65 lead with 3:37 on the clock. The Highlanders continued to fight, pulling within two on a Dickerson 3-pointer with 1:28 to go, 75-73. Collin pushed the lead to five once again, 80-75, before Dickerson drained a 3-pointer from the win with 11.69 seconds remaining, 80-78. That would prove to be as close as they could get.
Daylon Dickerson led McLennan with 33 points, Nick Shogbonyo added 23, and Cameron Crockett scored 10.
Collin: Eli Obaseki 0 0-0 0; Jordan Cooke 1 0-0 3; TJ Thomas 4 10-11 19; Jarron Drayton 1 0-0 3; Xavier Williams 2 0-0 6; Payton Chism 0 2-2 2; Zay Okoh 4 3-4 13; Matt Lewis 4 0-0 10; Vladislav Karasev 0 0-0 0; Chase Henderson 3 0-0 7; Kameron Johnson 6 6-6 19; Totals: 25 21-23 82.
McLennan: Daylon Dickerson 12 5-7 33; Nick Shogbonyo 7 7-7 23; Jaden Juarez 0 1-2 1; Antwone Gonzales 4 1-3 9; Landon Anderson 0 0-0 0; Cameron Crockett 4 2-4 10; Jaden Walker 1 0-1 2; Totals: 28 16-24 78.
Halftime score: McLennan 44, Collin 41; 3-pointers: Collin 11 (Chism 2, Okoh 2, Lewis 2, Cooke 1, Thomas 1, Drayton 1, Henderson 1, Johnson 1), McLennan 6 (Dickerson 4, Shogbonyo 2; Total fouls: Collin 18; McLennan 17; Fouled out: Crockett (McLennan), Williams (Collin); Record: McLennan 14-5 (1-2).
