Wildcats battle to the end

Shari Harris, Publisher

The Licking Wildcats ended their season in Houston Saturday with a 55-56 loss in the District Tournament to Mountain View-Liberty. Licking led through the first half, going to intermission with a 29-26 lead. They lost their advantage in the third quarter, and despite outscoring the Eagles by 2 points in the final quarter, they ended a point short of Liberty.

Licking was 12-13 this year, with a 6-2 conference record (tied for second in conference). Scoring in their final game was Chris Bartling 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists; Austin James 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists; Keyton Cook 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists; JB Huff 9 points, 7 rebounds; Carter Sullins 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists; Nicky Hood 2 points, 2 rebounds; Cole Wallace 5 rebounds, 3 assists; and Connor McLeod 4 rebounds.

“We battled to the end. We had our chances and we just fell short of making that one play that would have gotten us over the top. Hopefully, the young guys learned the importance of each possession, offensively and defensively, in the first quarter and the last. I appreciate how the seniors handled themselves on and off the court this year. They represented the Licking community with pride and effort. There was no complaining about playing time and the parents were great to me and my family. Hopefully, this is the first year in a long line of learning and growth and we started something special with these guys.” – Coach Mike Phillips