Abilene Cooper spoils Abilene High's playoff hopes, locks up No. 2 seed

The Cooper boys basketball team can play solid defense. When the Cougars shoot the ball well, too, they can be hard to beat.

They did both Tuesday night against their crosstown rival, and it added up to a 52-36 victory in a key District 4-5A game at Cougar Gym.

The loss knocked Abilene High out of the postseason playoffs picture.

“Fifty-two is almost an offensive explosion for us, man,” Cooper coach Bryan Conover said. “If we go over 50, we’re winning. That’s what I’ve been telling our kids. We can guard good enough.”

Jaelyn Rivera and Kam Gray each scored a game-high 15 points as the Coogs (18-12 overall, 8-4 district) nailed down the No. 2 seed.

Cooper tied Lubbock Coronado (19-11, 8-4) for second, but the Coogs swept the series for the tiebreaker.

DeMarco Upshaw led the Eagles (12-17, 4-8) with 12 points, and Brooks Reese had nine.

An Eagles victory would have created a three-way tie for fourth with Wylie (13-18, 5-7) and Lubbock-Cooper (17-15, 5-7) since district champion Lubbock Monterey (23-9, 11-1) beat the Pirates 67-63 in Woodrow.

Instead of a three-team play-in tournament, Wylie will play Lubbock-Cooper for the final playoff berth at 8 p.m. Friday at Colorado City. The winner gets No. 4 Amarillo High (30-4) in the first round.

The other Cooper, Abilene Cooper, spoiled the party for AHS.

“They guard really good, and when we had some good looks, we didn’t knock them down,” AHS coach Justin Reese said. “That’s why they’re in the playoffs and have a chance to make a run, because they can really, really guard and then everything goes through Rivera for them. He does a really good job, and I thought Kameron was really good tonight, too. I thought he played really well.

Efficient Coogs

The Coogs, who hit 12 of 19 shots in the first half, used a 7-0 run to overcome a 5-4 deficit and never trailed. They led 29-20 at halftime, despite turning the ball over nine times.

But Cooper shot the ball well, while AHS hit only 8 of its 22 shots from the field in the half.

Both teams struggled from the field in the third quarter, but Cooper scored the final three baskets to lead 38-23. The Coogs then outscored AHS 8-4 to start the fourth quarter and break open the game.

Cooper hit 21 of 44 shots from the field overall, while committing 14 turnovers. The Eagles were 14 of 39 from the field with 13 turnovers.

“We really executed our offense, I thought, well,” Conover said. “We didn’t really take bad shots. Took care of the ball in the second half.”

Crosstown sweep

The victory gives Cooper a sweep of the district series. The Coogs beat AHS 50-41 last month at Eagle Gym.

It’s the first time they’ve been district rivals since the 2013-14 season. They always had been in the same league until Cooper dropped for the first time the 2008-09 season, went back up for four more years beginning the 2010-11 season before dropping down again.

This is AHS’ first season in the UIL’s second-largest class after always being in the largest class.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been in the same district with those guys,” Conover said. “It’s a bragging rights thing. You’re going to be the first Cooper team to beat those guys twice in a year in a long time. … You can take that to your grave. … Ya’ll beat them twice your senior year.”

Despite the rivalry, Coach Reese wishes the Coogs the best in the playoffs.

“Coach Conover’s done a great job with that group,” Reese said. “He’s a good friend. I’m proud of him and all the work he’s done. He’s had some good coaching jobs, (but) this might be his best one. … We’re proud of those guys, and we hope they go make a run for Abilene.”

Eagles' last flight

It was the final game for AHS’ only two seniors – Chris Motl and Jake Breckenridge.

“Jake Breckenridge and Chris Motl gave us everything they had for four years,” Coach Reese said. “They just leave a really strong legacy of hard work, commitment and leadership that our guys have a really good example to follow.”

Reese, who wrapped up his sixth year with the Eagles, believes his young team is on the verge of ending what’s now a two-year playoff drought.

“This season feels very similar to my first season here,” Reese said. “My first season here, we had really good leadership and buy-in. We were really young. Didn’t quite get over the hump. That year we missed a play-in game. But that group and that senior class then, like our senior class now, kind of set the foundation for going forward.

"I think our program is ready to take the next step.”

DISTRICT 4-5A

Cooper 52, Abilene High 36

AHS … 7 … 13 … 3 … 13 – 36

Cooper … 14 … 15 … 9 … 14 – 52

ABILENE HIGH (12-17, 4-8) – Chris Motl 1 0-0 3, DeMarco Upshaw 5 2-4 12, Eric Salazar 0 0-0 0, Brooks Reese 3 1-2 9, Brenner Paul 0 0-0 0, Connel Colley 2 0-0 4, Sawyer Moss 0 0-0 0, Carter Wyatt 0 1-2 1, Jake Breckenridge 3 0-0 7, Bryce Neves 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 4-8 36.

COOPER (18-12, 8-4) – Kale Sage 0 0-0 0, Jaden Carrillo 0 0-0 0, Savion Vinson 0 0-0 0, Jordan Willis 2 2-4 6, Jaelyn Rivera 4 6-7 15, Maxwell Falade 3 0-0 6, Mack Summers 0 0-0 0, Zavian Alexander 3 0-0 7, Eric Tonche 2 0-0 4, Kam Gray 7 0-0 15, Dycin Davis 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 9-10 52.

3-Point Goals – AHS 4 (Motl, Reese 2, Breckenridge), Cooper 2 (Alexander, Gray). Total Fouls – AHS 14, Cooper 10. Fouled Out – None. Technical Fouls – None.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Cooper thwarts Abilene High in District 4-5A boys basketball