By PATRICK CASEY
The Walton boys basketball team earned their second district win of the 2014-15 season with a 34-33 decision in overtime over West Florida on Friday night in a contest that wasn’t decided until senior Rodney Shipman sank a free throw with less than three seconds remaining in the game.
The Braves trailed 13-1 to start the game as seven turnovers and poor shooting allowed the visiting team to run up a lead.
Walton turned the tables on the Pensacola squad in the second quarter as the Braves rallied from a 13-5 deficit to within 15-14 at intermission by forcing 15 first half turnovers from the visiting team. Shipman provided a key three point shot while freshman Juanyeh Thomas scored all six of his points in the first 16 minutes of play to help the Braves stay on the heels of the Jaguars.
Defense ruled in the third quarter as the Braves allowed only one made shot from the field with West Florida having more success at the charity stripe, making 7-of-8 shots to retain a 24-22 lead. Andricus Moore provided Walton with a long three point shot as time expired to get Walton within two points entering the last eight minutes.
The fourth quarter saw both squads fight to score points with the Braves getting the final shot of regulation from junior Azende Rey as his game winner came up just short to force the two teams into a four-minute overtime.
Shipman scored a basket from the field for a 33-31 lead only to have the Braves commit multiple fouls over the next few possessions to send the Jaguars to the line with a chance to tie or take the lead. West Florida’s free throw shooting disappeared in the extra frame as they made only 2-of-7 shots with Nathan English tying the game up for the visiting team in the final minute.
Walton took the clock down for the final shot of the game and Shipman drew a reach-in foul with 2.3 seconds left that sent him to the line for a pair of shots. He made the first attempt but missed the second with the Braves grabbing the rebound as the clock expired to take the win.
Shipman led the Braves with eight points as the defense forced 24 turnovers and allowed only nine made baskets from the floor.
Walton improved to 2-4 in District 1 of Class 4A and won a coin flip with Marianna on Monday to take the #3 seed in next week’s district tournament that will be played at West Florida on Feb. 6-7. Walton will play the host in a 7 p.m. contest on Friday, Feb. 6.
Walton traveled to Paxton on Saturday night as the Bobcats held their 2015 Homecoming game. The Braves kept it interesting in the first half as the game was tied at 20-all at intermission with the Bobcats using their three-point shooting to pull away in the second half. Devin Huckaba made four shots from behind the arc and finished with 14 points while Zac Varnum attacked the paint and hit 13-of-17 free throws to finish the night with 33 points. Grant Stewart added 11.
Nitro Gee scored 15 points for Walton with Steven Harper leading the outside shooting with 13 points. Sixteen turnovers hurt Walton’s cause as the Braves were 19-of-43 from the field compared to 16-of-40 for Paxton. The Bobcats hit 27-of-36 free throws compared to 7-of-13 for the Braves. Paxton had 11 turnovers but posted their 17th win in the last 23 games against the Braves dating back to the 1988-89 season.
Walton (8-11) will host senior night on Friday, Jan. 30, when they face Crestview at 7 p.m.
Team Notes: Walton won the junior varsity boys contest over Paxton 33-26 but lost to West Florida The Walton varsity is 5-3 overall against West Florida and broke a three-game losing streak to the Jaguars. Paxton ended one of the best regular seasons in the history of the boys program with a 58-47 win over Rocky Bayou on Monday night to wrap up the regular season at 24-1. Paxton will have an 11-day break before they play in the District 1, Class A semi-final on Feb. 6 in Laurel Hill. Desmond Moore was chosen as Homecoming King and Tori Morgan as Homecoming Queen.
