By Dana Harding
Alley-oop plays are typically drawn up for big men, not 5’8” guards.
Then again, when you’re Sparta’s Landon Davis sitting on 998 career points, what better way to cross the milestone?
The Trojan senior’s 1,000th career point helped key a second-half rally as Sparta downed Billings 63-53 in a Southwest Central League matchup Monday night.
Entering the game with 989 points, Davis poured in nine first-half points to close the gap. At 7:08 remaining in the third quarter, Jade Perez floated a lob from the left perimeter. A lob that a wide-open Davis jumped up and tipped in from the opposite low post.
“We usually run that play for someone else,” Davis said. “But I can jump, so we figured we’d run it for me there, and Jade made a great pass. It felt like the longest 11 points of my life, but we got there.”
Sparta head coach Larry Brown praised his senior guard’s performance and achievement.
“[Landon] is just a great player,” Brown said. “I know the guys really wanted to get this one for him. That would have been pretty disappointing for him to score 1,000 points on a night that we lost.”
Davis finished with 21 points to lead all scorers in the contest but, just as his coach feared, the milestone basket was almost spoiled.
Trailing 24-17 midway through the second quarter, the Wildcats caught a break when back-to-back Sparta fouls sent both Logan Rutherford and Jade Perez to the bench.
Billings closed out the half with a 6-0 run to take a 25-24 lead into the locker room, and then continued its hot streak to open up the third with a 9-2 run.
Coach Brown wasn’t surprised by the comeback.
“Billings is well-coached, and you knew they were going to make shots and get back in it,” Brown said. “We did have to play a lot of different guys in that first half, but then they came out and kicked our tail early in the third quarter.”
With Sparta trailing 34-24, a Rutherford layup finally broke the Wildcat momentum and allowed the Trojans to scrap their way back to a 41-41 tie after three.
Both teams traded leads early in the final frame, before Davis decided to one-up his milestone bucket.
In a chaotic series of events, the Sparta guard went on a 9-0 individual run to flip the game from a one-point Sparta deficit to a 57-49 Sparta lead.
Following a Davis 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, a disputed call on an out-of-bounds possession with 2:17 on the clock led to a Billings technical and two more free throws. A Wildcat foul then allowed Davis the opportunity to knock down his fifth and sixth in a row from the stripe.
In the blink of an eye, Sparta was able to stretch itself into a controlling lead and close out the game with clock-killing, perimeter ball movement.
Rutherford and Perez joined Davis in double figures for the Trojans with 18 and 11 points, respectively.
For Billings and head coach Kendall Tilley, the disappointing loss was a result of lack of follow-through on key opportunities late in the game. The Wildcats had a host of momentum-seizing chances down the stretch, but were unable to capitalize on a big run to hold off the SWCL rival.
“We would get a stop, and then we’d turn the ball over,” Tilley said. “That was my biggest thing. We didn’t convert our stops when we got them. They had some kids step up and brought them back when we were up ten, and then we let things snowball on us a little bit. We’ve got to find a way to stay out of foul trouble and then keep a lead when we get one.”
Luke Johnson led Billings with 17 points.
Both teams draw quick schedule turnarounds and are back in action Tuesday. Sparta (4-3) hosts New Covenant Academy, while Billings (2-5) hosts Greenwood.
Sparta 63, Billings 53
Sparta 14 10 17 22 — 63
Billings 13 12 16 12 — 53
Sparta scoring – Landon Davis – 21, Logan Rutherford – 18, Jade Perez – 11, Braxton Lilly – 6, Dakota Lafferty – 6, Collin Teague – 1
Billings scoring – Luke Johnson – 17, Tyler Essick – 12, Bobby Brown – 11, Jacob Smith – 9, Wyatt Wilson – 4
JV final: Sparta – 44, Billings – 30
C final: Sparta – 14, Billings – 7
