FINISHING STRONG! | KHS tops Spring Hill in regular season finale, honors seniors (w/ gallery)

Kilgore seniors (from left) Eric Armstrong, Braydon Nelson, Mikel Dennis and Brady Reeves (all wearing the Kilgore Bulldogs warm-ups) were honored Tuesday night on senior night and then held off a scrappy Spring Hill team, 47-43 (Photo by MITCH LUCAS – ETBLITZ.COM)

Under coach Jeff Coleman – in two tenures – Kilgore High School boys basketball has been a winner.

Consider:

• When Coleman arrived, Kilgore had not been to the boys basketball playoffs since Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States. Like, in his first term.
• Within just a couple of seasons, not only were the Bulldogs in the playoffs, they were in the regional tournament at Texas A&M-Commerce, just a couple of wins from the UIL State Tournament (4A).
• Under Coleman, since his arrival, departure and re-arrival (after brief stints at Tyler Legacy and Gladewater), Kilgore has made the playoffs 10 times; reached the second, or area, round, on nine of those occasions; won area eight times; and of course, had the regional tournament appearance.

The coach who came from Idabel, Oklahoma and is a part of various halls-of-fame in that state, who won a state title there and competed for others, has remolded the KHS basketball program from also-ran to playoff contender. His players and coaches often tell stories about him (good ones), and swear by his techniques.

Now, can Coleman and the Bulldogs make another run?

We’re about to find out.

The regular season ended for Kilgore High School on Tuesday night at home, and it ended with a bang, a 47-43 thriller of a win over District 17-4A rival Spring Hill, who gave Kilgore all it wanted, by the way, down to the final minute.

The Bulldogs – 12-12 at the end of the regular season – look to be facing Palestine in round one (bi-district) of the University Interscholastic League’s Class 4A playoffs. As soon as that is final, including site, date, and time, we’ll have it here on ETBlitz.com.

Kilgore had to work for it. Both teams played hard; Spring Hill was playing to move up from fourth in the district to third, and they pushed Kilgore.

Mikel Dennis gave the Bulldogs a 34-27 lead with a basket in the first minute of the fourth quarter, and a back-and-forth that included a three-pointer by Jayden Sanders with 6:01 left put Kilgore up by eight. It appeared KHS was pulling away.

But Spring Hill’s Dekylan Johnson and Dustin Yelverton-westberg hit back-to-back baskets, and then Yelverton-westberg hit a three, a big one, that got the Panthers within a point (39-38) with 4:11 left in the game.

Defense tightened the next near-two minutes until Dennis hit a bucket that gave Kilgore a three-point lead, and Javon Towns, after a steal by Kilgore post player Braydon Nelson, scored to put KHS up by five (43-38) with 1:39 left.

Still, Spring Hill wasn’t done. Yelverton-westberg hit yet another big three-pointer with 19 seconds left, and the Panthers called a time-out a second later.

Spring Hill had fouls to give, and did so, ultimately sending Sanders to the line with just over nine seconds left. He missed them both, and Spring Hill would get a shot.

They’d actually get three – free throws, that is, when an official whistled Kilgore’s Kayson Brooks for a foul on Spring Hill’s Jack Beckett, as Beckett was shooting from three-point range.

Beckett, with three seconds left, went to the line with the chance to tie it up, and did hit the first free throw. But he missed the second, meaning Spring Hill couldn’t tie it at the line.

Coleman called a time-out of his own, and then on the third free throw, Beckett missed it intentionally, the ball smacking the backboard, but Kilgore would gain possession, as Towns would be fouled, with the Bulldogs clinging to a now less-precarious 45-43 lead.

Towns hit both shots, gave Kilgore a 47-43 lead, and the clock would evaporate on the Panthers by that score.

On the game’s final play, longtime manager Brady Reeves hit the court to an ovation: Reeves dressed as a member of the team on Tuesday night, as a part of the senior night celebration (more on that below).

Sanders led the way for the ‘Dogs with 14 points. Nelson had 12 and Eric Armstrong had 10. Towns finished with seven, and Dennis had four.

Nelson also had seven rebounds and a steal; Towns finished with four assists, a rebound and a steal; Sanders had three steals, a rebound, blocked a shot and had an assist; Dennis had a rebound and a steal; Armstrong had two rebounds and a steal; Dre Sanders and Cam Christian didn’t score, but Sanders had an assist and Christian had a rebound.

Prior to the game, seniors Dennis, Armstrong, Nelson and Reeves were honored for senior night, leading to Reeves actually dressing out for the game and playing on the final 1.6 seconds, as time expired.

• Reeves was escorted by his mom, Ann Reeves, and by friend and KHS alum Sam Clements. He’s been a basketball manager three years and was a baseball manager for a season. He was a Hi-Stepper manager for two years, and a member of AASA for two years and the Anchor Club for a year. He plans to go to Kilgore College after graduation, and eventually to become a basketball coach. His favorite memory was Sam Clements being a manager with him last year.
• Armstrong was escorted by his mom, Ida Armstrong, dad, Eric Armstrong Sr., and his grandmother, Tammy Armstrong. Eric has played basketball his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, participated in welding for three years and art club for two. He plans to continue his education and basketball career at Kilgore College. His favorite memory: “Dumping water on Andrew at the hotel while competing in the tournament in Paris.”
• Dennis was escorted by his dad, Michael Dennis, and he was a four-year player for Kilgore in both football and basketball. He also enjoyed art for two years, and his favorite memory of his high school basketball career was coach Coleman’s storytelling. He plans to attend Kilgore College, furthering his education there and playing football.
• Nelson was escorted by his mom, La’Shondra Nelson, and his grandmother, Karolyn Nelson. He played three years of varsity basketball, including earning first-team all-district honors last year; he played three years of varsity football, including two years of all-district and all-state honors along the offensive line; and he has competed in varsity track, having reached the state track meet in discus and finishing fifth in the state. His favorite memory is “when coach Coleman woke up Cam in Paris,” and after high school, he plans to continue his education and football career at the University of North Texas.

Kilgore senior Eric Armstrong, with mom Ida, dad Eric Armstrong Sr., and grandmother Tammy. (Photo by MITCH LUCAS – ETBLITZ.COM)

Braydon Nelson (center), with mom LaShondra Nelson and grandmother, Karolyn Nelson, was one of four seniors honored Tuesday night at KHS. (Photo by MITCH LUCAS – ETBLITZ.COM)

Kilgore senior basketball manager Brady Reeves (center), escorted by his mom, Ann, and friend Sam Clements on Tuesday. Reeves dressed out for the senior night game against Spring Hill, and got into the game for its final play, a 47-43 Kilgore win. (Photo by MITCH LUCAS – ETBLITZ.COM)