Schools 
HARKER HEIGHTS — It was ugly, rough and not pretty to watch.
But Harker Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt will take it.
Despite leading by 20 points late in third quarter Friday, Bobbitt’s ninth-ranked Knights had to hold on for a 71-66 win over visiting Belton.
“I knew it was going to be like that even when we were up by 20,” he said. “We couldn’t get any time off the clock and they started to play some bully ball and we are not used to that.
“We like to be the guys bullying.”
That “bullying,” though, led Harker Heights to the free-throw line a whopping 50 times, including 28 in the fourth quarter.
The Knights (22-3, 7-0 12-5A) made just enough of its foul shots to hold off Belton (11-13, 2-5), which after scoring 32 points in the first three quarters, scored 34 in the fourth.
“Belton came and did what they had to do,” Bobbitt said. “They made sure they left everything on the court, they did not kowtow because we are the first-place team. They came to play a ball game and luckily they did not have two more minutes.”
Belton coach John Osborn wasn’t happy with the foul disparity after the game — especially since his two top scorers Sean Voss and Jacob Whitman both fouled out.
“I think for it to be 50-24 was kind of uncalled for,” Osborn said. “I thought the first half was called fine and then the second half it got one-sided on me.”
With the majority of its offensive firepower on the bench in the fourth quarter and Heights holding onto its slim lead, Belton was forced to foul.
No one benefited from that more than Daevon Brown, who scored all 13 of his points from the free-throw line and hit 9-of-13 in the fourth.
Belton — at least for a while — was happy with the trade-off. Daniel Mills stepped up and hit two key 3-pointers with time winding down. The first cut the Heights lead to five, 61-56, and the second brought Belton within three, 69-66.
However, with 15 seconds left, Heights stripped the ball away from Trey Rose as he attempting to drive to the basket. Brown then knocked down two more free throws on the other end that sealed the game.
“They made some free throws and we did not convert on those last two possessions,” Osborn said. “If we could have converted on one of those we could have put some pressure on them ... and maybe make them shake a little bit more on the free-throw line.”
Despite the loss, Osborn was pleased that his team made such a large comeback. The Tigers only scored six points in the first quarter, yet were only down by two (22-20) at the half.
Heights’ only offensive burst came from Thomas Cherry, who scored eight of his team-high 20 points in the game’s opening two minutes. But two minutes into the third quarter, Brandon Bullock got back-to-back putbacks and Deante Mathis hit a 3-pointer from the corner to stretch the Heights lead to 13.
The Knights did not stop pushing. Cherry drove the lane for two heavily contested buckets and pushed the Knights lead to 47-27 and capped off a 21-4 run.
“We came out in the third quarter and we were flat,” Osborn said. “I don’t know what we were doing.”
