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To the limit: North boys survive four overtimes, remain perfect
By Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
Most basketball teams might experience overtime once or twice a season. Few, if any, will ever find themselves in quadruple overtime.
The only thing worse than playing in a four-overtime game is losing it, something the McKinney North Bulldogs refused to do in Tuesday night's 84-81 win against Rockwall Heath.
"I feel exhausted and happy," said Darryll Craft, North head coach. "I'm happy for our kids. Games like this, they're not easy, to be honest with you, but our kids found a way to gut out a win against a team that was very methodical."
"We found a way to win this basketball game and that says a lot about our team," Craft said. "In the fourth quarter and into the overtimes we did a good job of communication, switching the screens, jumping to the ball side and therefore we didn't get beat and didn't give up layups."
After battling all night, the Bulldogs found themselves in a tough spot toward the end.
"In the fourth overtime we got down by five and it's only a four-minute time period," Craft said. "We had to battle and found a way to get some steals."
North was later down by two with 10 seconds to go when junior guard Jola Otubu drained a 3-pointer from the left wing for the one-point lead. The Bulldogs would score again after being fouled in the final seconds to claim the 84-81 victory.
Otubu was joined by junior guards Steele Douglas, Colin Curran, Julion Perry and senior guard Bryson Brown as the players who kept the Bulldogs in it with each passing overtime.
"We played the same five players from the end of the fourth quarter and all the overtimes, for the last 26 minutes," Craft said, "because we had some injuries, some guys who weren't performing, but these five guys gutted it out."
Curran led the way with 27 points, which included six threes in the second half and seven for the game.
"That's just unbelievable," Craft said.
In addition to Curran, North had three other players score in the double digits, as Perry had 17 points, Jola had 14 and Brown had 13.
What Craft has found most impressive about his team this season is that even though they're undefeated, it truly has been a team effort as North has had a different leading scorer every game.
"We've played four games, we're 4-0, but we've had four different top scorers," Craft said.
Perry had 25 points in the season opener against Frisco Liberty while Brown had 17 against The Colony, Douglas had 19 against Denton and Curran had his 27 against Rockwall Heath.
Craft, though, knows it hasn't been an easy road to 4-0.
"We're playing against some really good competition," he said. "At least three of these teams, maybe all four, will probably make the playoffs in their districts. I'm very pleased to be 4-0 with what we're doing and how we've handled all these situations."
Craft cites his team's potent adaptability as the main reason for their early-season success.
"I work them hard and expect the best out of them and they bring it every night with their attitude and desire," he said. "It doesn't matter what style somebody tries to play us, we can adapt to it. We have the ability and athleticism to play different tempos. We're good enough to overcome whatever's being thrown at us and find a way to win games."
Craft, though, knows that even undefeated teams have areas in which they need to improve.
"We are 4-0, but we still got to get better, because we have some tough competition ahead of us," he said. "We have to have better vision and better court awareness."
As they prepare to dive deep into their season, Craft is most thankful for the depth his team has, depth that extends far beyond the starting five.
"We can't overlook the other players on the team." Craft said, "because this is a team game and players like [posts] Tanner Little and Eric Ford, [and guards] Kody Wilson, Michael Caldwell and others; they're the ones who give our other kids breaks and come in when we need them. They all contribute to our success."
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