After sweeping through Division 2-2A foes in the regular season, the Wolverines hit a speed bump on Friday night in the division tournament championship game.
After beating Calhoun City 68-55 on Thursday night, the Wolverines dropped a 47-42 decision to Leflore County in the title game.
“This group has accomplished a lot,” East Webster coach Michael Seger said. “We are disappointed for the guys but not disappointed in them. We are thankful for the opportunity to play in the state playoffs next week at home. I expect the sting of this loss will make our guys pull even closer together. I'm proud of them.”
The Wolverines fall to 21-5 on the season and finish as the No. 2 seed in division play after winning the regular-season title. East was set to host Riverside on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Leflore County boys 47,
East Webster 42
In a back-and-forth game, Leflore County pulled away in the end to take a five-point win and the Division 2-2A championship on Friday night.
Leflore jumped out early as the led 13-9 at the end of the first and 32-22 at the half. The Wolverines cut into that lead in the third as they outscored the Panthers 10-4 to trail 36-32 going into the fourth. Leflore was about to outscored East 11-10 in the fourth to take the win.
“We didn't have the urgency defensively we needed in the first half,” Seger said. “We gave up too many second-chance points. The guys did a great job of regrouping at the half and played much better in the second half.
“We had some key guys in foul trouble, but our guys responded with toughness and resiliency to tie the game multiple times in the fourth quarter. We showed some poise to get some big baskets late in the game.”
Isaac Patterson and Art Thompson each scored 12 points apiece while Charlie Brand had seven points and Jacob Ginn added five points.
East Webster boys 68,
Calhoun City 55
The Wolverines pulled away in the fourth period in a 13-point win over Calhoun City.
East Webster led 14-12 at the end of the first period and 28-21 at the half. Calhoun City battled back in the third as they outscored East Webster 22-18 to cut the lead to 46-43 heading into the fourth. The Wolverines then pulled away in the fourth as they outscored the Wildcats 22-12 to take the win.
“Calhoun City made a run to take a three-point lead in the third quarter, but we responded with poise and confidence to go on our own 14-0 early in the fourth quarter to put the game away,” Seger said. “Our guys played so unselfishly and so energetically. The offense was a thing of beauty in the fourth quarter.”
Isaac Patterson led East Webster with 27 points and 12 rebounds while Art Thompson had 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Jacob Ginn had nine points while Charlie Brand had eight points and Sedrick Taylor added six points.
