Coyotes hold off Logan

DORA — Free throws may have been at a premium, but the Dora Coyotes made the most of their opportunities on Tuesday night.

The Coyotes shot 82 percent from the charity stripe, including a perfect 9-of-9 in the final quarter, to edge Logan 49-44 and advance in the District 6-2A tournament.

This was the fourth time this season these teams had met, with the teams splitting 2-2. While Logan won 59-32 in the EPAC tournament in January, the other three games were decided by a combined 12 points.

Staff photo: Matthew Asher

Dora sophomore post Xavier Gramzow takes a contested shot in the second quarter of Tuesday’s game against Logan. Gramzow would make the shot and finish with 10 points, helping Dora win 49-44 and advance to the next round of the Class 6-2A district tournament.

In this one, the teams traded leads throughout. With 28 seconds remaining, Logan held a 43-40 lead after senior Logan guard Brinton Roach sank two free throws.

On the ensuing possession, Dora sophomore guard Aaron Jasso raced down the court on a breakaway layup, made the shot and was fouled. Jasso completed the three-point play to tie the game with 23 seconds left.

Those were Jasso’s only points of the night.

“I was calm and relaxed with that shot,” Jasso said of his free throw. “I do this every day in practice for this exact reason.”

Coyotes senior forward Dalton Privett then stole the inbounds pass and was fouled immediately, and he gave Dora (17-10) the lead by sinking both free throws.

The Coyotes then fouled senior guard Mike Estrada, but he missed his first attempt and Dora coach Kevin Lackey called a timeout.

“I wanted to talk to them about boxing out, and remind them not to get in a jump ball situation because Logan had the possession arrow,” he said.

Estrada made his second attempt, but Logan again fouled Privett. He made both free throws to finish with 15 points — all coming in the second half.

Logan jumped ahead 17-7 at the quarter, but the Longhorns (11-15) managed just two points in the second quarter as Dora pulled to 19-17 at the break.

“We just got out of rhythm,” Logan coach Randy Robertson said. “They had us stymied. We just couldn’t score.”

Sophomore forward Slade Hamann started Dora’s second-quarter rally when he made two consecutive treys to cut the lead to four.

The key play for Hamann came in the third quarter when Dora couldn’t hit an up-close shot. Three Coyotes rebounded the ball five total times before Hamann finally sank the jumper to tie the game 28-28.

“It was pretty much luck that the ball fell back into my hands,” Hamann said. “I’m just glad I was finally able to make it.”

Hamann finished with a game-high 17 points. He was one of three Dora players in double figures along with Privett (15) and sophomore post Xavier Gramzow (10).

For Logan, Estrada was the lone double-figure scorer with 12 points, thanks in large part to his three 3s.

The Coyotes travel to Fort Sumner for a 6 p.m. semifinal game against the Foxes, with that winner playing at Melrose on Saturday in the finals.