By Martin Edwards Staff Writer
The Aubrey Chaparrals basketball team went on the road and picked up their first district win of the season, defeating the Celina Bobcats 58-57 Dec. 20.
The contest saw the two teams trade the lead multiple times, with the Chaps making crucial plays down the stretch to come from behind and take the victory.
“We played with guts,” head boys basketball coach Kyle Smith said. “I told our guys it was going to be an up-and-down game, and whichever team was better today would win. [Celina] is a good team, and they made plays and hit us hard in the third quarter. We had to regroup in the fourth, [but] our guys came through, and I’m proud of them.”
Aubrey opened the game with a 13-9 scoring run, taking a 4-point lead in the first quarter.
The Chaps continued to outscore the Bobcats in the second quarter, extending their lead to 8 and going into the half up 3022.
Aubrey had its largest lead 37-26 with three minutes left in the third quarter, but Celina found their rhythm, closing out the quarter on a 14-3 scoring run and tying the game at 40 as the teams went into the fourth quarter.
The rivals continued to trade buckets in the fourth quarter and found themselves tied at 50 with three minutes left in the game.
The Chaps found themselves down by 1 with 24 seconds left when point guard Tyler Hightower found forward Jaedon Bogar
Martin Edwards/The Post-Signal
in the low post for the layup that gave Aubrey the lead.
Bogar’s bucket was ultimately the gamewinning shot after the Chaps forced the Bobcats to miss their final shot, and Bogar recovered the rebound to seal the win.
“I got three quick fouls early in the game, so I had to sit on the bench for a while,” Bogar said. “It was frustrating, but it helped me. I used that as motivation after halftime, and I was able to capitalize and get the win for my team.”
The Chaps also got key contributions from shooting guard Aidan McKeehen, who came off the bench to make multiple clutch plays on both ends of the floor, including the steal that led to the game-winning score.
“I was guarding the guy inbounding the ball, but we switched to a double team at the last second,” McKeehen said. “When he threw the ball in, I was able to tip it. Jaedon grabbed the ball, and we were out.”
Bogar led the Chaps with 16 points and 7 rebounds, followed by 12 points from guard Marquez Lucas and 11 points from McKeehen, who was 3 for 4 from behind the three-point line.
Smith said he hopes the win provides a lift for the Chaps as the team heads into their holiday break.
“This was big for our confidence,” he said. “Celina is one of the best teams in the district, so now we know we can [compete]. It’s going to be a fight every night because all the teams are tough; we just have to bring it.”
The Chaps were scheduled to return to the court Dec. 26-28 to play in the Allen Holiday Invitational. Results were unavailable by press time.
