Chaparral boys rally to beat Legacy in overtime
Sameal Anderson scored plenty of points for Chaparral’s boys basketball team Saturday.
He made an even bigger impact with his passing.
Anderson had 21 points and 10 assists and set up the go-ahead basket in overtime as the Cowboys rallied for an 84-78 win over Legacy in the Battle Born Classic at Durango.
“He’s probably our best passer, best playmaker,” Chaparral coach Steven Bentz said. “He sets guys up with his penetration and his IQ and seeing the floor and getting the ball to guys in the right spots.”
He did just that in overtime with the game tied at 70. Anderson drove into the lane, spun and found an open Meshach Hawkins on the right block. Hawkins made the basket and was fouled, and the Cowboys didn’t trail again.
Hawkins also had made the first basket of overtime with a rebound and basket.
“The first bucket of overtime is usually key,” Bentz said. “It kind of gives you momentum. Sameal set that play up nicely, and Meshach Hawkins finished it well.”
Hawkins and Anderson wouldn’t have had a chance for the key overtime play if not for senior guard Elijah Briggs.
Briggs hit three fourth-quarter 3-pointers, including a shot from the right wing with 46 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 68 and forced overtime. Briggs finished with 28 points, 21 after halftime, as the Cowboys rallied from a 58-50 deficit in the final 5:11 of the fourth quarter.
“He kind of turned the tide for us in our favor, put us on the offensive and gave us an advantage,” Bentz said. “Eli did hit some big shots for us.”
Hawkins had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Dejonte Allen added 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Cowboys (6-5), who open Class 3A Sunrise League play Tuesday.
“We’ve kind of struggled and dropped some games we shouldn’t,” Bentz said. “We wanted to be going into league play with some momentum. And this gives us momentum against a good Legacy squad.”
Emmanuel Austin led the Longhorns (11-6) with 22 points, and Andrew Garcia scored 19.