BUDA – Boerne Champion pushed its win streak to 10 straight after last Tuesday’s first-round playoff victory over Leander at Buda Johnson.
During their current streak, the Chargers have found different ways to win games, and Tuesday’s contest turned into a grindit- out victory over the Lions.
Champion was clutch at the free-throw line late and made six straight foul shots to hold off the hardcharging Lions, 44-43.
The Chargers (26-9) played Southwest Legacy Friday in S.A. The two teams met to open the season and Champion won that game played on Nov. 14, 70-46.
SW Legacy (also 26-9 overall) beat Lanier in the first round, 57-53, and won District 28-5A (14-2).
Champion coach Chris Adamek said he was proud of how his team won, especially with their leading scorer, Gavin Peck, playing with a sprained ankle.
“We knew Leander was going to be tough. They love a slow-paced game, and their matchup zone causes problems for everyone,” he said. “I’m very proud of our focus and mental fortitude throughout the second half, especially considering this was the first playoff win for every player.” Peck tweaked his ankle in the second half and left the game to get it retaped. He returned but played with a noticeable limp.
“Gavin wanted to give it a shot (after getting retaped) and he ended up playing the rest of the game hurt,” Adamek said. “He wasn’t close to 100 percent but his passing against pressure and going 4 for 4 from the free-throw line were crucial factors.”
Champion’s biggest lead of the game came early after Travis Clark nailed a pair of 3-pointers for the 6-0 lead. The Lions didn’t score their first points of the contest until midway through the opening stanza but kept it close after that.
Leander was up 18-16 at the halftime break and then took a 30-29 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Nik Georgelos drained back-to-back 3s for the Chargers to start the fourth and they were up 35-30. Just when it looked like they might pull away, Peck tweaked his ankle and the Lions scored the next five points after two Charger misses to make it 35-35.
With 2:42 left, Clark hit his seventh 3 of the game to give Champion a 38-35 edge. The Lions were fouled on the other end and Jazzmon Cheeves made one free throw to make it 38-36 with 1:17 left.
From there, the Chargers started playing keep-away to kill the clock. Leander started to foul and Champion was up for the challenge.
Peck was fouled twice and made all four of his free throws for the 42-38 lead. It was a 2-point game at 42-40 with 16 ticks when Georgelos was fouled. The senior calmly sank both at the line, and Champion had a four-point cushion at 44-40 with 16 seconds remaining.
Leander was out of timeouts and worked the ball down the court and around the perimeter. The Chargers played solid defense and didn’t allow a shot until near the buzzer.
Leander made the 3 with about 1.5 seconds left to cut the lead to one point at 44-43, but the Lions couldn’t stop the clock. Champion didn’t need to, but they inbounded the ball and drained the remaining time off the clock to secure the win.
“Travis led us in scoring with 21 points on seven 3-pointers, while Nik had 8 huge fourth-quarter points,” Adamek said.
Besides Clark’s 21 points, Georgelos finished with 12, Peck had 7, William Kliesing added 3 and Reid Reddy made a free throw.
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