Zwolle slips past Midland in double overtime

The opportunities were plentiful for the Midland Rebels Friday evening in their Class B quarterfinal showdown with the Zwolle Hawks.
But in the end, it came down to free throws and the Rebels weren’t quite as good as they needed to be from the charity stripe.
The No. 5-seeded Rebels went 6-11 from the line in regulation and then hit just seven of their 15 free throws in two overtime periods in a heartbreaking 78-76 double-overtime loss to the No. 4-seeded Hawks.
The Hawks (31-11) now move on to the Top 28 tournament in Lake Charles where they will take on No. 1 seed Simsboro on Wednesday in the semifinals.
Midland finished the season with a record of 23-12 in what many considered a rebuilding year after a state-runnersup finish in 2014-15.
“Nobody thought that we could be here, not even our own fans thought that we could make it this far,” said MHS coach William Stanley following the loss. “To do that and prove a lot of people wrong, I think, tells you a lot about the Midland basketball program and the guys that we coach.”
The Rebels stunned a packed house time and time again, racing out to an early 15-point lead in the first half and then rallying from a 6-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game.
The Rebels had their share of chances to close out the contest in regulation, as well.
But two late turnovers and four straight missed free throws in the final minute and a half allowed the Hawks to tie game and send it to overtime.
“We talk about leaving it all out on the court and we did that tonight,” said Stanley. “We had the game won about 10 times, but we needed to make free throws and that’s what it came down to at the end.”
The Rebels led by four (69-65) with just under a minute to go in the first extra frame, but they missed a prime opportunity to close the game out when they missed back-to-back free throw attempts.
Zwolle’s Ladarious Cutright (32 points) then hit a driving layup and after Midland’s Dylan Cormier went 1-for-2 from the line with 17 seconds left, Cutright struck again in the lane to tie the game and force a second overtime.
The lead switched hands five times in the second extra period before Zwolle got the ball back with 27 seconds remaining.
At that point, Cutright took the ensuing inbounds pass, waved off his coach from calling a time out, and then drove the lane with five seconds remaining and was fouled. He then calmly knocked down both free throws to seal the victory.
With both Dylan Boudreaux and Griffin Hains on the bench after fouling out in the first extra period, it was Dagan Patin who launched a last second desperation 3-pointer that bounced off the front of the rim.
“We had a game plan and we stuck to it and we had those guys (Zwolle) panicing,” said Stanley. “We just had a few mistakes, a few costly turnovers, and the free throws at the end.”
The absence of Boudreaux, who fouled out midway through the first overtime, was detrimental.
“Dylan was the key for most of the game,” said Stanley of Boudreaux, his lone starting senior. “I mean, 14 points and nine assists...If we don’t lose him, we win the game. I mean, heck, at the end I had a post player handling the basketball.”
Early in the game, it was all Midland as they bolted out to a 29-14 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the first half.
From there, however, the hosts went on a 16-5 run to trim the lead to four (34-30) at the half.
“We just went to fast during that span and we had a few turnovers,” Stanley of his team’s meltdown midway through the second quarter. “Our defensive intensity went down and that’s how they got back in it.”
Cormier was pivotal in the early lead as he poured in 15 of his team-high 23 points in the first two frames.
Patin followed 15 points while Boudreaux and Hains also hit double figues with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Ty Breaux added eight points and Bailey Vincent scored six.
Patin was also the rebounding leader with 13 boards while Boudreaux led the team in steals with three.
Cutright had the hot had for the Hawks with a game-high 32 points, including 15 of Zwolle’s 18 points in the two extra frames.
Jermaine Williams was the only other Hawk in double figures with 13 points.