Senior guard Ricky Zorn takes the shot
And, while they played well, the 'Cats lost both games- each by two points.
State ranked Lakeview Centennial was up first for the ‘Cats on Friday afternoon.
Maxpreps has had the Patriots ranked as high as second in the state this year. The Patriots are currently ranked 9th.
Lead by senior forward Aaron Mazibuko and junior guard Trey Bingham, the ‘Cats handled the Patriots' aggressive style of defense extremely well early on, jumping out to an 11-2 lead.
Mazibuko had eight points in the first quarter, with Bingham adding five, as the ‘Cats were up 17-10 at the end of the first.
The Patriots stuck to their game plan and continued to press the ‘Cats, forcing several turnovers in the second quarter.
Led by junior guard Jamarlus Demas, who had a game high 27 points, the Patriots took their first lead, 25-24, with 3:00 to go in the first half.
The ‘Cats managed to keep it close, heading to the locker room at the half with the game tied, 28-28.
Not unlike the first half, the ‘Cats looked sharp early on in the second. Senior guard Demarcus Bernard rattled off six straight points, but the Patriots were able to answer with a run of their own.
Jamarlus Demas had ten points in the third period and led the Patriots on a 9-0 run, which put the ‘Cats on their heels.
Trailing 45-39 with 3:54 to go in the third, Wildcat head coach Rob Wylie called a time out to regroup.
“They made a lot of adjustments in the second half that we just didn’t handle very well,” said Coach Wylie after the game.
At the end of the third quarter, the ‘Cats were trailing, 51-44.
Senior guard Ricky Zorn and junior guard Trey Bingham helped keep the ‘Cats in the game with some great outside shooting down the stretch.
Down 62-53 with 2:08 remaining in the game, Bingham drained a couple three pointers in a row, keeping things real interesting.
