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Texico boys fall in triple overtime

Wolves endure first loss since 3A state title game

TEXICO — It was bound to happen sooner or later.

Saturday, Texico’s boys basketball team endured something last season’s Wolverines didn’t endure until their 30th and final game.

A loss.

Incredibly, it took three overtimes to do it, but on Saturday night the Texico boys were beaten for the first time this season when they fell 61-59 in three — count ’em — three overtimes in the Farwell Tournament championship game.

“I’m not sure that I’ve ever coached a triple overtime game,” Texico head coach Ty Thatcher said. “I’ve been in some single and double overtime games, but that might be the first triple overtime game for me. Seemed like it was midnight when we were finishing up.”

The game was tied at 39 after regulation, at 47 after one overtime period, at 53 following two OTs.

On they went into the third overtime where Farwell prevailed.

“Basically, it came down to execution,” Thatcher said. “We had a couple of turnovers that turned into free throws at the other end. They hit some shots and we didn’t in that last overtime.”

The 2017-18 Wolverines went 29-0 before losing to Pecos in the 3A championship game at the Pit. This year’s Wolves — now 2A — began the season 4-0 and forged their way into Saturday night’s Farwell Tournament title game.

Texico led 13-10 after the first quarter, but trailed 21-19 at halftime. The Wolverines were up 32-30 by the third quarter’s end, and had chances to pull it out.

The latest chance in regulation came with three seconds left, with the game tied at 39 and the ball in senior point guard Dalton Thatcher’s hands. Thatcher’s potential game-winner was off, though, and overtime ensued.

Luke Phipps hit from deep in both overtimes to help extend the game. By the third overtime, though, the Texico ranks had grown thin, with three starters fouled out.

“The younger guys were doing a good job,” Ty Thatcher said. “They had a few more weapons than we did as far as size, and kind of exposed the smaller players.

“But I thought the effort was good. To use our superintendent’s statement, he told me after the game that he thought the kids played with resiliency.”

Dalton Thatcher led the Wolves with 16 points, followed by Phipps with 14 and Skyler Davis with 13.

Though it was Texico’s first loss in nine months, it was a legit one.

“Farwell’s a good team,” Coach Thatcher said. “Yes, we have beaten them, and we beat them in the second game of the season. That was their first game of the year when we played them and (as of Monday), they’re 10-1. They’ve definitely had more gym time than we have.”

Coach Thatcher was encouraged by how his players seemed to be responding to that initial defeat.

“I think practice was pretty good (Monday),” he said. “We made some adjustments to figure out some of our clock-management situations that we ran into the other night. We put them on the line which is a crucial error that we made in the closing minutes.”

And perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing that Texico absorbed a December loss. As he sat in the post-game press conference following the Wolverines’ championship-game loss to Pecos last March, Coach Thatcher discussed the possibility that losing in the last game of the season had hurt his team, discussed the notion of his team maybe being tight, maybe putting too much pressure on itself when the idea of an undefeated season had become a thing.

Monday, nine months later, he discussed it again after this season’s team had gotten a loss out of the way.

“Last year, everybody seemed to tell me that we needed to lose a game early and learn from it, so I guess that’s where we’re at now,” Coach Thatcher said. “I’m still not a hundred percent sure that’s the way it’s supposed to work, because we strive to win every game.”