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Ira’s Brayden Corley (11) drives against Dawson’s Napper Jackson during Tuesday’s Class 1A bi-district playoff game.
LAMESA — Trey Sessums made the winning field goal with four seconds left in overtime to give Dawson a 64-62 win over Ira in a Class 1A bi-district playoff basketball game Tuesday.
Ira (13-15) had an opportunity at force a second overtime, but Rarmio Rios’ shot bounced off the backboard.
Dawson’s largest lead was five points in the first half. Ira led by three points late in overtime. The lead changed 10 times during the fourth quarter and seven times in overtime.
“I’m so happy how we responded throughout the game,” Ira head coach Todd Wall said. “We made great improvement since the first time we played Dawson. We played a good game and came up short. It was not just one thing, but little things here and there. I wouldn’t trade their performance in this game for anything. The game could have gone either way.”
Karson Valentine led the Bulldogs with 17 points. Rios had 14 points while Emanuel Cabrera added 11 points.
Mattheu De La Rosa scored a game-high 23 points for Dawson. Sessums had 20 points and Jackson Napper added 10 points.
“The game was close throughout and we just wanted the ball last,” Wall said. “We had a shot, but didn’t have enough time to do something with it.”
Ira’s Anthony Sosa started the game with a 3-pointer. The lead changed seven times during the first quarter. Dawson was able to build a 15-11 lead after the first quarter.
The lead grew to 29-24 in the second quarter, but Cabrera’s three-point play helped Ira cute the lead to 29-27 at halftime. Dawson took a 43-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
After the Dragons took a 51-50 lead with 45 seconds left in regulation, Valentine drew a foul and made two free throws to give Ira a 52-51 lead.
Zakari Quintanilla gave Dawson a 53-52 lead with seven seconds left. Sosa, who received the inbound pass and fouled, made one free throw to send the game to overtime.
The game was tied 62-62 when Sessums made the game-winning field goal.
“We matched up well with each other and knew it would be a close game,” Wall said. “Dawson made a few more plays on the inside. We missed some free throws that hurt.”
Wall said despite the loss, the future appears promising.
“We relied on freshmen early in the season and started 3-11,” Wall said. “The players made a lot of progress throughout the season. I wish that I had this same group for another year.”
Dawson 15 14 14 10 11—64
Ira 11 16 12 14 10—62
Dawson scorers — Mattheu De La Rosa 23, Trey Sessums 20, Jackson Napper 10, Austin De La Rosa 7, Aaron Contreras 2, Zakari Quintanilla 2.
Ira scorers — Karson Valentine 17, Ramiro Rios 14, Emanuel Cabrera 11, Anthony Sosa 9, Brayden Corley 8, Nathan Goodwin 3.