Wildcats season ends on rival sweep

BASTROP — Waelder’s season ended as two Moulton defenders contested sophomore Isaiah Miller’s layup attempt. Miller’s shot was off, another Moulton defender grabbed the rebound and officials opted to let the clock run out instead of calling for a foul in Moulton’s 29-27 win over the Wildcats on Tuesday at Bastrop High.

On the previous possession, Jr. Satterwhite was called for a blocking foul instead of a charge, giving Moulton’s Caleb Nieto two free throws. The senior guard converted on both, giving Moulton their 29-27 lead with 8.3 seconds left on the clock.

“I think there was a missed call at the end,” Waelder head coach Jacob Garcia said.

Garcia noted that his team did have some missed opportunities throughout the low-scoring affair.

“Hindsight is always 20/20, you can always look back,” he said, “but yeah there were missed opportunities where we didn’t run our sets right, where we should have made the extra pass, where we got an open shot and we should have made it. But then again, that’s basketball.”

The 27 points scored by the Wildcats is one of the lowest scoring games they’ve had all season. Last year’s team ended their season with a 37-27 loss against Leggett in the Region IV-1A final.

“We couldn’t buy a bucket,” Garcia added. “I think both teams probably shot a pretty low percentage, I think that’s why the scoring was so low. Defense was great on both ends. I think it was just, probably nerves, it’s a big game, it’s what happens sometimes. Some games you make shots, some games you miss shots. It’s basketball.”

The lead changed 13 times, with the biggest lead at just four points, a 26-22 Waelder advantage in the fourth quarter with 3:25 left on the clock, after a made three by Miller. Moulton finished the game with a 7-1 run.

The Wildcats will end their season third in District 30-1A and Region IV-1A quarterfinalists. They lost all three times they took on Moulton.

Last season, the Wildcats made it to the Region IV-1A finals as district champions, knocking off Dime Box in the quarterfinals.

The team graduates Carlos Reyes, Justin Schilhab, Alex Reyna and Jayvion Thompson.