Boerne Champion won its seventh straight basketball game in 26-5A after the Chargers defeated visiting Kerrville Tivy and clinched a playoff spot in the process.
Champion topped a tough Tivy team on Tuesday, 57-50, and nabbed one of the four postseason berths in 26-5A with two games left on the schedule.
The Chargers are the hottest team in the district, and head coach Chris Adamek admits he didn’t see this coming.
“They’ve really surprised me and I don’t get surprised too often,” Adamek said. “I didn’t expect seven in a row and to have a spot clinched with two games left.”
One thing the Chargers have done well during their win streak is to grind out games, including victories in overtime and double overtime.
Champion had to grind out another one on Tuesday after the Antlers took a 42-36 lead into the fourth quarter.
A Nik Georgelos 3-pointer with 5:30 left tied it at 44-44, but the Antlers answered with a 3 of their own for the 47-44 advantage with 4:50 remaining.
Champion responded with a 9-0 spurt over the next four minutes and pulled ahead 53-47. Gavin Peck scored 5 of the 9 points, while Georgelos and Reid Reddy both chipped in with 2 pointers.
Tivy turned it over three times during Champion’s run and missed a couple of shots but ended the drought with a 2-pointer with 38 ticks on the clock to make it 53-49. The Antlers started to foul from there, and the Chargers made 4 of 6 at the line to ice it.
Tivy had another turnover late, its fourth in the final three minutes, and made one free throw to go with their 2-pointer to account for only 3 points in the final 4:50 of the game.
Adamek said having played in close games prepared his team for a game like they had on Tuesday.
“They aren’t nervous in tight games, and we know what to do offensively,” he said. “We know if we get in a tight game, we have a great player in Gavin Peck that can get us to the finish line and Gavin isn’t rushed at all in the big moments.”
Peck finished with 20 points, Georgelos added 14 and Reddy tallied 9, as the three combined for 17 points in the fourth quarter, including 9 by Peck in the period.
Travis Clark hit a couple of early 3s and finished with 8 points, Nick Plummer contributed 3 in the fourth quarter and tallied 5 in the game and Kris Lauderdale made a free throw in the final stanza.
Champion was sitting at 3-4 after a loss to Veterans Memorial on Jan. 13. Their 7-game win streak makes them 10-4 in 26-5A (23-9 overall).
The Chargers hosted Veterans Memorial Friday and close out the regular season at Smithson Valley next week.
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