WEST FORK -- Cody Vaught can't recall a bigger regular-season victory in his four years as a head coach than the one West Fork's boys picked up Friday night -- or most dramatic.
The Tigers held on for dear life and escaped with a 54-52 victory over rival Greenland in the Tiger Dome, knocking the Pirates out of first place in the 3A-1 West Conference standings.
Boys
West Fork 54, Greenland 52
Greenland^13^10^10^19^—^52
West Fork^14^12^10^18^—^54
Greenland (12-10, 7-2): Z. Wolfe 18, Miller 14, Self 13, Lyons 4, D. Wolfe 3,
West Fork (15-6, 6-2): R. Roebke 20, C. Roebke 12, Yates 10, Hays 5, Treat 5, Burnett 2.
Girls
Greenland 55, West Fork 40
Greenland^19^6^17^13^—^55
West Fork ^11^13^2^4^—^30
Greenland (16-5, 9-0): Crown 21, Arnold 10, Redmond 8, Wright 8, Bohannon 3, Osburn 3, Boone 2.
West Fork (12-12, 3-5): Tedford 9, Throgmorton 8, Kutz 7, Griffin 3, Sagely 2, Greenlee 1.
It didn't come easy. West Fork (15-6, 6-2) failed on three attempts to get the ball in play on an inbounds pass, then Dalton Hays missed two free throws with 2.7 seconds remaining after Greenland (12-10, 7-2) missed a game-tying layup. Ryan Roebke, however, stole the rebound and threw the ball up toward the roof as time expired.
"It was nerve wracking," Vaught said. "We never trailed in the game, and that makes a difference. We were able to play a lot of zone defense, and it was different types of zones. When you're ahead, it's a lot easier to do. When you're behind, you have to defend or they will just hold the ball."
Hays did give the Tigers the lead for good when his bucket broke a 40-40 deadlock with 5 minutes, 38 seconds left. West Fork's lead rocked between two and four points until Cole Self's bucket pulled Greenland within 53-52 with 17 seconds left, and the Pirates used their last timeout.
Ryan Roebke, who led West Fork with 20 points, hit one of two free throws with 9.6 seconds remaining, then the Tigers grabbed the rebound off Roebke's miss. West Fork had two inbounds plays slapped away, then turned the ball over to give Greenland one last chance, only to have a layup not go over the rim and bounce away.
"We have too many seniors to make the mistakes we made," Greenland coach Jared Gobel said. "We missed free throws down the stretch, missed block outs down the stretch. We gave them too many opportunities down the stretch, and they took advantage of it.
"I was proud of how we battled. But when you're a senior-heavy team like we are, we can't make those mistakes. We just can't make them in a game like this."
The win now moves Lavaca (13-7, 7-1) into sole possession of first place in the 3A-1 West, one-half game ahead of Greenland and a full game ahead of West Fork, which plays Lavaca next week.
Cody Roebke added 12 points and Ethan Yates 10 for West Fork. Zac Wolfe paced Greenland with 18, followed by Mason Miller with 14 and Self 13, with 11 of those coming in the fourth quarter.
Girls
Greenland 55, West Fork 30
Greenland scored 13 unanswered points to pull away from West Fork and remain unbeaten in 3A-1 West play.
Kim Crown gave the Lady Pirates (16-5, 9-0) a 25-24 halftime lead when she hit two free throws with 3.7 seconds remaining, and she ended the run when her three-point play made it a 38-24 game with 2:37 left in the third quarter.
Crown had 11 points in the first quarter and finished with 21 to lead Greenland while Allie Arnold added 10. Brooke Tedford had nine -- all in the first half -- to pace West Fork (12-12, 3-5), which was limited to just six points over the final 16 minutes.
Sports on 01/30/2016