The varsity boys’ basketball season ended with a rematch against the Palo Duro Dons to determine which team would advance to playoffs. The Eagles lost 48-53, ending in fifth place with an 8-6 record in district play and a 20-12 overall record.

Canyon began their season strong with a win over Randall, and a win over the Caprock Longhorns, 54-39.

They then faced back to back losses by the Plainview Bulldogs and Frenship Tigers, making their district record 2-2.

The Eagles, however, bounced back with three straight wins against Dumas, Palo Duro, and Hereford.

The boys then faced Randall for the second time and came back to Canyon with a disappointing loss of 79-65.

The 5-3 Eagles moved on to beat Caprock for the second time, 61-42, but also fell again to Plainview and Frenship.

Canyon then snuck out a win against Dumas with a final score of 52-51 but  suffered a defeat to the Palo Duro Dons.

Canyon played their last district game in Hereford and came away with a 59-35 win. Their play-off chances were determined by a Randall and Palo Duro match up. After a Raider last-second win, the Eagles were scheduled to face the Dons for a third and final time in a play-in game. The fourth place Dons went on to lose their first round play-off game to Little Elm, 56-70.

“We were all really disappointed that the season had to end before play-offs,” sophomore post Dylan Douglass said. “We weren’t ready to accept that our season and time with the seniors was over.”

The lead Eagles scorer was senior Will Tolliver with 15 points. He led Canyon, along with senior Isaac Williams, defensively with a combined total of six steals.

The Eagles battle Hereford at home tonight.

“We feel very confident going into Friday’s game,” sophomore Dylan Douglass said. “We’re hoping to hold our place in the district standings.

Freshmen begin at 4:30 p.m., JV at 6 p.m. and varsity at 7:30 p.m.

“We are pretty confident,” senior post Jake Kantor said. “We have beat these teams before.”

Speaking captain senior Braden Kimsey said the team hopes to make playoffs.

“The bi-district game should be very interactive,” Kimsey said. “No team is dominating anyone in their district. It is pretty much fair game.”

The boys lost to number one seed Palo Duro 81-51 Feb. 5.

The Dons came back after a quick start by the Eagles in the first quarter with huge shots made by junior Derek Odell and a pair of inside baskets made by sophomore Will Tolliver.

Wing Kimsey led the team with 17 points including nine in the third quarter. A total of five three point shots were made throughout the game: a pair made by Odell, two more by Kimsey, and one by Trevor Davis.

“The game looked hopeful in the first quarter,” Kimsey said. “We never hung our heads, and we played hard the whole game.”

The boys have a team scoring average of 50.7 in district. Leading individual player averages for scoring are 14.9 for Kimsey and 12.2 for Toliver. Both players also hold the top individual rebounding averages.

After trailing through three quarters during the game against Frenship, the boys held the Tigers to six points in the fourth period for a 50-47 win.

Down by nine points at halftime and down by sixteen at one point during the Randall game, the boys reused their momentum from the win against Frenship.  Sophomore Will Toliver said the team started the game off flat and Coach Crenshaw pumped them up before taking the court after halftime.

“Randall really surprised me by how determined they started the game,” Toliver said. “They shot the ball lights out in the first half. Coach got us ready to start the second half.  He personally challenged me to lead the team to victory. I accepted his challenge.”

Toliver lead the team to a 61-52 victory after he scored 19 points in the second half. A three pointer made by senior Brayden Kimsey with 67 seconds remaining in the game, two clutch threes by junior Derek Odell and big shots made by Trevor Davis helped the team recovered from a 12 point deficit in the first quarter.

“Once we finally took the lead in the fourth quarter, we could tell that Randall was giving up,” Toliver said. “We were not going to let them back into the game because Coach always talks about finishing games and never letting up.”

The boys say they hope to find the same momentum to defeat Palo Duro tomorrow at 7:30 at home.

“Palo Duro is a good team and one of the best in the area but I think we are a good team and people underestimate us,” Toliver said. “We have to go out there and play fearless and execute on both ends of the court. I think if we don’t worry about the name of the team we are playing and just play our game it will be a good one.”