Amidst the hugs and high-fives at center court that followed No 17-ranked Jarrell’s 87-85 win over No. 12 Hallettsville on Wednesday night in a Class 2A Region IV quarterfinal, seemingly everyone wanted a piece of juniors Kreece Cooper and Daniel Tucker.
Tucker scored a game-high 33 points and Cooper had 24 - including a back-breaking 3-pointer with 1:25 left - in helping the Cougars come up with every answer they needed to pull off an improbable win.
Old men came up, offering congratulations, and little kids sought out fist bumps. But in the wake of the Cougars’ win, all Cooper and Tucker could think about was how much they and their teammates had to overcome.
Without two starters for at least Wednesday night and possibly this weekend’s regional tournament, roles had to change and the burden of responsibility grew heavier.
In short, it was time for the Cougars to show more of their unselfish spirit.
“Nobody thought we had any, any chance,” Cooper said. “Even though they’re not here, this is a time when everybody has to come together more. Everybody on the bench had to step up, and they did.”
Said Tucker: “It doesn’t really matter who we lose; I think we can play just as good as long as we play as a team and don’t be selfish.”
Minus brothers Aaron and Matt Mueller, who were held out of Wednesday’s game because of an off-the-court incident that occurred recently, much of the scoring load fell on Tucker, Cooper and cousin Taylor Cooper, who scored 16 points.
“I knew I wanted them to take a lot of shots and they did the job,” said Jarrell coach Drew Sumner, whose team will play the Jourdanton-Santa Rosa winner at 6 p.m. Friday at Seguin High School.
With Hallettsville trying to turn up its pressure defense for one final push to regain the lead in a tight contest, Kreece Cooper stole the show in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of 19 second-half points.
Each time the Brahmas inched closer, he answered with a 3-pointer or tough layup. His final shot - a 3-pointer with 1:25 left - proved to be the biggest, giving the Cougars a five-point lead they didn’t relinquish.
“That was the dagger,” Kreece Cooper said. “I was feeling it and I just wanted the ball in my hands at that point. I knew it was over after I made that.”
Tucker’s 19 first-half points were just as big, keeping the Cougars in it despite foul problems and troubles handling Hallettsville’s pressure defense.
With an array of off-balance layups and conventional three-point plays, Tucker seemingly got whatever he wanted against the Brahmas’ defense.
“Daniel’s amazing,” Kreece Cooper said. “I don’t know he drives to the basket and makes everything like that.”
Though Jarrell had control for much of the second half, it took the Cougars a while early on to figure out how to handle the Hallettsville’s pressure and play without the Mueller brothers in the paint.
The Cougars had six first-quarter turnovers and trailed by as many as eight against the Brahmas’ full-court, trapping defense.
But the biggest problem was containing speedy guard Dante Haynes, who scored 33 points and seemingly scored with ease in the lane. Haynes relentlessly attacked the basket and the Brahmas pushed the pace, forcing Sumner to go to his bench early and often.
Said Kreece Cooper: “Those sophomores that played today . . . without them there’s no way we would have won.”
With the Cougars’ bench keeping the game close, Tucker and Cooper took over, helping Jarrell earn a win even the Cougars weren’t sure was possible 24 hours earlier.
“It was just everybody stepping up,” Kreece Cooper said. “It’s undescribable how good this feels right now.”
