Highlanders rally for season opening win

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - After trailing for most of the basketball game, The Woodlands Highlanders outscored Cy Falls 5-0 in the final 1:13 to pull out a thrilling 39-38 victory over the Golden Eagles in both teams' season opener on Tuesday night at The Woodlands High School.

Freshman Romello Wilbert, who is going to be one of the top players in the Houston area before his high school career is over, scored on a putback with 1:13 to play to cut Cy Falls' lead to 38-36. Then, after the Golden Eagles turned it over, Clay Creighton picked the right time to bury his first 3-pointer of the game to give the Highlanders a 39-38 lead with 1:06 left in the contest.

Cy Falls center DeShang Weaver, who is the Golden Eagles' best player, was fouled near the top of the key with 51 seconds to play. Weaver, however, did not hear the whistle and continued to the rim for a two-handed dunk. He hung on the rim after the slam, then fell awkwardly to the ground as Cy Falls coach Richard Flores jumped up and asked for a timeout.

Following the timeout, Cy Falls worked the ball around the perimeter until Brian Payton, who took a lot of abuse from The Woodlands' student section, missed a 3-pointer from the left wing. Payton had nailed two threes earlier in the game and dished off several nice assists.

The Woodlands called timeout after the miss, but the Highlanders turned the ball over on the inbounds pass to give Cy Falls another chance with 25 ticks to play. This time, Weaver worked for a jump hook in the lane, but the ball bounced off the rim into the hands of teammate Leron Davis. Davis was fouled as he took the ball back up, but he missed both ensuining free throws.

After the missed free throws, Cy Falls fouled The Woodlands' Cameron Burkett, who missed the front end of the one-and-one with 5.65 to play. Cy Falls rushed the ball up the court and found Ayomide Dada in the corner for a 3-pointer. Dada's triple, however, sailed over the goal, giving The Woodlands the one-point win.

Before the game, the talk centered around how the freshman point guard would play, and how much sophomore center A.J. Bullard would play. A.J. Bullard, who is the son of former Houston Rockets forward Matt Bullard, played about three minutes in the second quarter. He did not attempt a shot, but showed some good court awareness on the offensive end and held his own against the powerful Weaver on the defensive end.

The 6-foot-1 Wilbert was the Highlanders' best player in this contest. He had four steals in his first five minutes of action, and continually took the ball to the hole and either scored or found teammates in the right position to score the basketball.

Burkett, who is only a junior, came out firing in the third quarter after a quiet first half. The 6-5 forward took five straight shots on five trips down the floor. He made a couple of them as The Woodlands rallied from a 20-14 halftime deficit to tie the game at 27-all heading into the final period. Burkett was the only player in double figures with 12 points.

The Woodlands took a 30-27 lead as Burkett scored off a perfect lob from Wilbert, drew the foul and hit the free throw with 7:50 left in the game. But Cy Falls, behind the platy of Weaver and Desean Green, scored six straight points to grab a 33-30 lead with 6:10 left in the game.

Burkett's two free throws cut the lead to 33-32, but Payton buried his second triple of the night to boost the lead to 36-32 and set the stage for the Highlanders' comeback.