Trailing with less than two minutes to go, the Neosho boys basketball team rallied for a 56-53 win over Parkview Monday night in a make-up game.
Neosho trailed the Vikings, 46-43, with 1:39 left to play, but a pair of consecutive plays helped turn the game around.
Alex Wise got a steal, and on the fastbreak he dished it off to Michael Lowe for a layup, making it a one-point game, 46-45.
After getting a defensive rebound, Neosho was fouled and came back and made a pair of free throws with 1:17 left. From that point, Neosho never trailed.
Lowe and Wise combined to hit 9-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter to help the Wildcats pull out the win.
“We used our full-court man pressure (defense) to force turnovers and we forced them into taking quick shots,” Neosho coach Ben Ponce said. “We were ready and knew how patient (Parkview) would be. I was worried once they got the lead, but we did a good job of not backing down. I didn’t think they could run with us. We didn’t execute that in the first half, but we did in the second.”
Neosho trailed for a majority of the contest. The Vikings (7-14) led 14-6 after the first quarter and expanded their lead to 26-18 at intermission. Neosho (5-16) was down 39-31 in the final seconds of the third quarter, but Anthony Westfield banked in a 3-point shot and was fouled. He converted on the free-throw shot for the 4-point play, making it a five-point game going into the final quarter.
Lowe led Neosho with 19 points, while Wise finished with 12 points.
Jordan Hitchcock led Parkview with 20 points, while Willis Prince chipped in with 10 points.
The Wildcats also prevailed in the JV contest, winning 38-20.
Neosho held a slim 8-7 lead after the first quarter, but went up 22-15 at halftime. The Wildcats
locked up the win by limiting Parkview to only two points in the third quarter.
Marcus Middleton had 12 points for Neosho in the game.
SCORING RECAP
Neosho JV (38) — Jacob Patterson 6, Tyler Marion 2, Zane Culp 6, Jared Hill 4, Ethan Murray 4, Ben Cook 4, Marcus Middleton 12.
Parkview JV (20) — Shockey 10, Dixon 4, Nelson 4, James 2.
Neosho (56) — Zach Todd 6, Alex Wise 12, Dakotah Smith 0, Kagean Wilkey 2, Corey Crandall 5, Blake Henry 2, Anthony Westfield 9, Michael Lowe 19.
Parkview (53) — Alex Poke 5, Diondre Johnson 7, Jalen Goodwin 4, Jordan Hitchcock 20, Willis Prince 10, Tyler Denney 1, Korey Tillery 6.
