The Sulfur Springs Wildcats once again hit the road on Friday, traveling to Pittsburgh for their final game in the district first round. The Wildcats successfully earned wins in each of their first four district games and were looking to extend their streak to five games.
Sulfur Springs not only entered the night riding a four-game winning streak, but they did so in impressive fashion, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 249-183. During that period, they won on average by a score of 62-45.
The Wildcats opened Friday’s game with perhaps their most impressive district quarter game yet, completely dominating from the starting point. Sulfur Springs was able to dominate both offensively and defensively, using turnovers for easy points at the other end.
The Wildcats scored the game’s first 19 points, receiving contributions from nearly every player on the floor. Pittsburgh was finally able to get on the board in the last minute of the opening frame, as Sulfur Springs led 22-2 going into the second quarter.
With Pittsburgh finally able to shift momentum to their side, it was Parker Whisenhunt who knocked down a corner 3-pointer midway through the second frame to slow them down. While the scoring dropped dramatically for the Wildcats in the second frame, they were still able to keep a firm grip on their lead, going into the locker room 31-15 late in the first half.
Sulfur Springs set the tone as early as possible in the second half, hitting a 3-pointer on the opening possession, before forcing a steal at the other end. Senior point guard Branson Lynn forced the steal and fed it to Whisenhunt, who got the layup for a quick 5-0 turnaround.
Later in the frame, it was senior Cole Theofiledes who forced a steal. Theofiledes went from coast to coast, scoring on the other end to push the Wildcats’ lead to 45-19.
Sulfur Springs kept up their strong play even into the final frame, though the game was already out of reach. They were able to hold Pittsburgh to single digits in the fourth once again as they would walk away with a huge 64-27 victory.
Senior Malachi Myles was the leading scorer for Sulfur Springs, keeping up his impressive streak. Myles scored 15 points on a very efficient 7-8 shooting and, even more impressive, he had a plus-minus of +42.
Whisenhunt and Lynn followed, each also scoring in double figures. Whisenhunt had 14 points on 6-11 shooting from the field, with 10 of his points coming from inside the paint.
Lynn had 10 points and also led the team with six assists. Lynn also had four rebounds and fumbled just once in the entire game.
Sophomore Theo McKelvey was next, adding seven points and shooting 3-5 from inside the 3-point line. Senior Kordrick Turner also had seven points, in a game in which he only had six field goal attempts.
Gavin White had five points for the Wildcats, while DJ Wilkerson, Macaulin Rollison and Theofiledes each had two points. The win lifts the Wildcats’ record to 23-7 on the year and keeps them at a perfect 5-0 in district play.
Sulfur Springs is back in the Top-10 after the most recent TABC survey update. After being just on the outside looking in, the Wildcats are back to being the No. 10 ranked team in the state.
With half the district on the books, Sulfur Springs will look to see if they can keep up their winning streak.
