Eddie Leal launches a 3-pointer that cuts Kilgore’s lead to 53-50 with 2:17 to play. (eParisExtra.com photo by Charles Richards)
KILGORE, Texas – Kilgore College outscored Paris Junior College 14-2 in the paint on Saturday and made 13 more free throws in a close game that got away.
Leading 49-46 with under four minutes to go, Kilgore batted away an attempt by Morris Mitchell with 3:55 to go, and the Rangers’ Maurice Taylor grabbed the loose ball and went coast-to-coast for a lay-up that opened the floodgates for a 65-56 Kilgore win.
Eddie Leal made a 3-pointer with 2:17 to play to get the Dragons within 53-50, but Erick Diouf’s basket and free throw got the lead back to six points.
With the clock in Kilgore’s favor, Paris began fouling and the Rangers made 10 free throws in the final 70 seconds to ice the win.
Kilgore’s Lonnie McClanahan led all scorers with 16 points on one field goal and 13-of-14 free throws. Taylor and Diouf added 11 points each.
Antonio Arnold scored 12 points for Paris, and Mike Harmon added 11 points, including two 3-pointers in the final 23 seconds. Two guards — Arnold and Leal — were Paris’ leading rebounders, Adams with 7 and Leal with 6.
Paris made only 27 percet of its field goals (16-of-59) and 59 percent of its free throws (16-of-27). Kilgore made 35 percent of its field goals (17-of-49) and 71 percent of its free throws (29-of-41).
The victory kept Kilgore in second place in Region XIV’s North Zone with a record of 12-4, two games behind Navarro, which improved to 14-2 with a 75-47 victory over Bossier Parish.
Paris fell to 7-9, which leaves the Dragons tied with Coastal Bend for the 11th-best record in the 14-team league.
Only 12 teams will qualify for the league’s post-season tournament, which begins Tuesday, March 5, at UT-Tyler. Paris can fall no lower than 11th, but cannot realistically expect to finish better than 10th now with three games left on the schedule.
Paris hosts Tyler (10-5) on Wednesday, visits Trinity Valley (7-8) next Saturday, and finishes at home the following Wednesday against Panola (0-16).
“I thought we did a good job defensively, for the most part,” Paris coach Chuck Taylor said. “I just don’t think we shot the ball well. I tell you what, though. I like our guys’ attitude, and I like the effort. We’ve just ot to find a way t get te sots going for us. We’ve got to figure out how t get better, how to get ready for the tournament.”
He added: “This time of the year, yo’ve got to get road tough. To be tough, you’ve got to win on the road.”
Saturday’s game at Kilgore was a game of spurts.
After 4:22, Paris had a 5-4 lead on a 3-pointer and 2-pointer by Delvin Dickerson. Then Kilgore went on a 10-0 run for a 14-5 lead at 10:38, followed by Paris’ 10-point run to go back in front 15-14 at 6:10.
Paris led 25-21 at the half, but the Rangers scored the first eight points of the second period, with two baskets by Taylor keying what turned out to be an 18-5 run for a 39-30 lead. Taylor had nine of the 18.
But now it was Paris’ time. The Dragons scored nine straight points in a minute and 48 seconds on a 3-pointer by Leal and a goal and four free throws by Sheldon Yearwood.
That made it 39-39 with 9:14 to play.Kilgore went to the free throw line three times for six points, and Paris went to the charity line twice, converting 3-of-4 shots.
Adams hit a 3-pointer at 4:46 that just beat the 35-second clock, and Kilgore’s four-point lead was cut to a single point at 44-43. Quinton Upshur of Kilgore took only 12 seconds to answer with a 3-pointer of his own, and the lead was back to four.
Arnold made two free throws, and it was 47-46, and McClanahan made two free throws for the 49-46 lead with 4:11 to play.
By CHARLES RICHARDS
eParisExtra.com
PARIS 25 31—56
KILGORE 21 44—65
The Kilgore page of the official scorebook of Saturday’s game shows the free throws on LonnieMcClanahan’s line at the top of the page.
Charles Richards Charles Richards moved to Paris in 2004 after retiring from a 40-year career in journalism – the last 26 years as a news writer and sports writer with The Associated Press in Dallas and Washington, D.C. In mid-2004, The Paris News coaxed him out of retirement, and he began covering the police, court and regional beat for The Paris News. Then in early 2005, he was switched to coverage of a sharply divided Paris City Council. He was appointed by the City Council in 2006 to the 12-member City Charter Review Commission, which extensively rewrote the outmoded document. His writing awards include two first-place awards in statewide competition for feature writing. The most recent was his 2005 story on a Paris doctor’s startling use of leeches in a successful attempt to re-attach a man’s severed ear. Over his career, Richards’ interview subjects include Alabama Gov. George Wallace, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, David Koresh, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and numerous other political and sports figures. He is an alumnus of Texas Tech, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He lives in Paris with his wife, Barbara, who is retired after 30 years as a teacher and high school counselor.
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