When Devontee Cook misses a dunk, he knows he’s in for a lot of ribbing from his teammates. He also admits that it means he needs to try harder.
After all, a 6-foot-6 center is expected to glide above the rim.
On Tuesday night, Cook missed such a dunk, but his tip-in with seven-tenths of a second to play completed the South Pike Eagles’ improbable 67-65 come-from-behind victory over the Loyd Star Hornets in the South Pike Basketball Tournament.
“If I miss a dunk, I go harder. I just succeeded with the help of my Lord, Jesus Christ,” said Cook, who also blocked seven shots on the night.
After trailing for much of the game, South Pike took its first lead of the game, 58-56, on two Devon Malone free throws with 3:49 to play.
The lead grew to 64-58 when Trelyn Pounds followed his own miss and hit a short jumper in the lane with 1:56 remaining.
Loyd Star, however, battled back and tied the game at 65 on a three-pointer by Thomas Glenn with 21.4 seconds to go.
The Eagles moved the ball upcourt and Trevosity Ellzey attempted a three-pointer that rimmed out.
When Cook leaped above the basket to grab the rebound and try for the slam, the ball slipped from his grasp, but still dropped into the net for the deciding bucket.
“That was a scary deal,” South Pike head coach Joe Taylor said of Cook’s putback.
The Eagles trailed by as many as 13 points, 37-24, midway through the third quarter, when Taylor called for a full-court pressure defense to slow down the Hornets’ prolific perimeter shooting.
“They’ve got some shooters,” Taylor said. “Those guys can really stroke it. That’s a good team. They’ll go far.
“We’ve been down in several games by 10 points,” Taylor said. “The second half is always our half. That’s the way we practice.”
Taylor’s decision to push the envelope of defense culminated into three consecutive steals by Ellzey and a 9-0 South Pike run.
The quick momentum swing was capped when Laquandra Wesley snagged his second steal of the run and dished backwards to Ellzey, who hit the running layup to slice the margin to 37-33.
Loyd Star rebuilt its lead to double digits on a Glenn three-pointer to make it 45-35. The Hornets led 47-39 after three quarters.
Consecutive baskets by Pounds and a steal and layup by Ellzey got the margin to within 49-45 with 6:44 remaining.
Ellzey then drained a trey from the left corner to make it 56-54. Ellzey finished with a team-high 22 points. Pounds chipped in 19. Malone had eight points, all in the fourth quarter.
“I just didn’t want to lose in our own tournament,” Cook said of his game-winning shot. This is our house.”
