San Antonio, TX-

The two top teams in District 28-6A played as you would expect with a district title on the line. The biggest lead at one brief point was 9 points by the Cougars, but the contest remained nip and tuck throughout.

Clark would hold a brief 56-47 advantage early in the 4th quarter, when LJ Brown would answer for the Jags with one of two treys, making it a 56-50 deficit. After a Jason Osonma lay-up in transition for Clark, Brown would sink another three-pointer to make it a five-point contest, 58-53, with 4:30 to go in the game.

Both teams would trade buckets the next couple of possessions, and the Jags would pick up a pair of much needed stops. That’s when Shane Johnson would go three quarters of the court on the right side, and then connect on an acrobatic scooping layup, high off the glass, making it a one possession tilt,
62-60.

That would be as close as the Jags would get, Clark would end the game on a 7-2 spurt, spearheaded by Jason Osonma’s throwdown, then a couple of key free throws from Jordan Mason and Al Emerllahu, would ice it for the Cougars as they secured the district crown with a 69-62 win.

More than just free throws down the stretch, Mason had impeccable timing. As the first half came to a close, he started on the left wing, took two dribbles and ended up on the left side of the paint and contorted his body for a left handed lay-up, just beating the buzzer. His basket would give the Cougs a 37-33 edge.

When it wasn't Mason, Osonma was the catalyst for Coach Sylestine and the Cougars. After a tight first quarter that saw Clark maintain a two-point lead, 17-15, it was Osonma who would start the scoring in the second period with a trey from straight away. Both clubs would go back and forth over the next five minutes, and Johnson would take a slight lead.

Osonma would also be very active on the boards, finishing unofficially with 10 of them, but it was his offensive board with the put-back and the foul, at the 2:05 mark of the second quarter that would tie the game up at 30 all, and Clark would not trail the rest of the game.

Leading the Cougars was the pair of Osonma and Mason, as they finished with 17 and 19 points respectively. In a close game all the way through, timely buckets and defensive stops were enough to help Clark prevail. The Cougars now stand 18-2 overall, and 8-1 in district.

The Jaguars were down starting point guard Kendall Dow, who is averaging nearly 20 points a contest. In his absence, Shane Johnson gave an incredible effort, finishing with a game high 26 points, and connected on 4 treys as well. Unofficially, he logged 7 boards as well, but it wasn’t enough as the Jags fell.