THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Levelland High School Athletics

Jakeevian Ford experienced the thrill of a lifetime Friday night, making a shot at the buzzer to propel his team to the regional finals. That regional final turned into a nightmare, though, that made Levelland’s senior guard feel as if he was seeing double at times. No. 5 Decatur used its smothering pressure all over the floor and the resulting points in transition to overwhelm Levelland 59-32 Saturday night in the Region I-4A Tournament championship game at the Rip Griffin Center. Decatur (37-3), coached by former Texas Tech guard Drew Coffman, will go to the state tournament on a 17-game winning streak in which it’s held all 17 opponents under 50 points. The Lobos understand why. “It was very difficult,” Ford said. “At times, it felt like four (defenders) ... It was only two people, but it felt like four defenders on me.” The Eagles dismantled the best West Texas had to offer for the second night in a row. In a 52-46 victory Friday against No. 11 Estacado, Decatur held the Matadors’ three scorers who average in double digits to single digits. Of Decatur’s 22 made baskets against Levelland, 18 came from right underneath — a bunch of layups off turnovers, cuts and drives to the hole, plus some put-backs and tip-ins. “I’m going to say it’s the best team we’ve played all year, but without a doubt the best defensive team,” said Levelland coach Jordan Elam, whose team finished 21-13. “They help so well, and they pressure you and make you turn the ball over. Coach Coffman does a great job. They’re very well coached, and we just never really adjusted to it.” Regional tournament MVP Wilson Hicks scored 18 points against Estacado and 13 against Levelland, helping Decatur advance to state for the first time. The 6-3 senior, committed to Oklahoma State as a left-handed pitcher, is a brother of Tech basketball player Parker Hicks. “We grew up playing basketball together,” Wilson Hicks said. “I was able to play with him for two years, so it was a lot of fun. We always wanted to make it to (the state tournament in) San Antonio together. We weren’t able to do it, but I’m glad we’re able to do it this year.” Ford and 6-4 senior Reid O’Connor led Levelland with six points apiece. The Lobos led 11-9 early in the second quarter, but harsh reality set in as Decatur took off on a 14-0 run. Hicks hit a 3-point goal just before halftime that made it 28-14, and the Eagles scored so much in transition they didn’t even attempt a 3 in the second half. The score was 43-18 midway through the third quarter, and Levelland didn’t reach 20 points until Bryant White scored on a follow shot at 2:09 in the third. The Lobos’ only recourse was to look back on a playoff run in which they won four times. The path included knocking off defending regional champion Seminole and winning a pair of two-point games, one over No. 13 Clint to make the regional tournament for the third time in five years. Ford made four three throws in the last 17 seconds to close out Clint and the buzzer beater to beat Graham. “We take a lot of pride in it,” Ford said. “Nobody thought we’d get this far, not even past the first round.” “We didn’t end on the note we wanted to,” Elam said, “but we accomplished a lot more than people thought we would, and I couldn’t be any more proud. We wanted to win one more, obviously, and didn’t get it done. But hats off to Decatur.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Levelland High School Athletics

NO. 5 DECATUR ROLLS PAST LEVELLAND FOR I-4A TITLE

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Lubbock Online | 3/8/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Levelland Athletics