W.F. West senior standout Carter McCoy drilled the go-ahead bucket with 17 seconds left in overtime to send the Bearcats to the district title match with a 61-57 victory over Ridgefield in the semifinal round here on Wednesday.
“It’s exciting,” W.F. West coach Chris White said. “It was a tough one.”
The Bearcats led by four after one quarter, trailed by two at the half and by one (46-45) entering the fourth quarter in what was a back-and-forth battle.
“We didn’t always execute our offensive sets great but it worked out,” White said.
“He praised Whalen Deskins for his fearless performance on both ends of the court, as well as McCoy and senior guard Cade Haller.
McCoy led the Bearcats with 17 points, while Deskins added 15, Dirk Plakinger had 13, Soren Dalan eight, Haller five and Gabe Cuestas chipped in three.
“The kids wanted to compete and they never quit believing they could do it,” White said. “They had to dig in and get stops. It was awesome. It was fun.”
W.F. West will now face Mark Morris for the district title Thursday night in Longview. The Bearcats lost 64-44 to the Monarchs in a non-league contest on May 13 and will look to turn the tables this time around.
“They beat us by 20 earlier this season,” White said. “It will be exciting to see if we can take it from them.”
