Crowley upends Everman in 2OT

The Crowley Eagles scored just two points in the first quarter Tuesday night at Everman, and then needed two overtimes to dig out in beating the Bulldogs, 68-62.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 17-8 overall and 7-2 in District 7-4A play and moves into a second-place tie with Mansfield Summit and Everman.
“I told my guys, ‘Don't come in here thinking it's going to be easy. We're in their house and they're going to fight,'” Crowley basketball coach Alfred Jones said. “We have to come in a keep our cool because they were going to try to push us around and be physical and we have to be physical back and play Crowley basketball.”
The Eagles, who have beaten the Bulldogs three times this year, trailed by six at the end of the first and three at the break.
“Everman came out with a lot of intensity, and we didn't match that intensity at the beginning,” Jones said. “Once we settled down and got into our rhythm, that's what got us back into the game.”
LeTron Manning, who led the Eagles with 19 points, tied the game at 28-28 with 4:39 left in the third quarter, but the Eagles couldn't get over the hump just yet.
Manning had the chance to give Crowley its first lead of the game, but he missed two foul shots to open the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs, however, scored six straight points to lead 34-28 with two minutes left in the quarter, and eventually built a seven-point lead heading into the final quarter of regulation.
The Eagles still trailed by seven with 4:30 left before mounting their comeback.
Kyle Wilson opened the Eagles' 11-5 run with a bucket followed by a 3-pointer by Byron Cooke to pull the Eagles within two at 44-42 with three minutes left.
Wilson scored after an offensive rebound, and Cook drilled two foul shots to give the Eagles their first lead of the game at 48-47 with 42.4 left.
The Eagles looked like they had the game won when Manning dropped a 22-foot 3-pointer with four seconds to go, but the Bulldogs answered with the 3-ball at the buzzer to send the game into the first overtime.
“In overtime we just tried to execute and tried to keep doing what got us back into the game with defensive pressure and knocking down free throws,” Jones said. “In the fourth quarter and in overtime the guys knocked down clutch free throws to seal the game for us.”
In the first overtime, the Eagles looked like they had the game won as they led by three with 24.9 left, but the Bulldogs drilled another 3-pointer with three    seconds left to send it into double-OT.
After Everman tied the game at 58-58 with 2:49 left, the Eagles put the game out of reach with a 7-1 run.
In the run, the Eagles hit 5-of-6 shots from the foul line, and the Bulldogs only got within four the rest of the way.
Behind Manning, Deondre Ray (12 points, 11 rips) and Wilson (13, 10) added double-doubles, while Cooke finished with 12.
The Eagles are back in action Friday when the host Mansfield Summit before traveling to league-leading Seguin Tuesday night.