Water Valley’s Season Ends With Regional Final Loss to Munday

ABILENE, TX — For the second consecutive year, the Water Valley boys basketball team lost in the last seconds of the regional final.

The No. 19-ranked Wildcats battled back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter and had three chances at game-tying 3-pointers, but none of them found their mark in a 52-47 loss to the No. 6 Munday Moguls on Friday at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum.

Munday improved to 29-9 and will play No. 9 Turkey Valley (28-4) in the Class 1A Division I state semifinals.

Water Valley’s season ended with a record of 22-4.

After erasing a 10-point first-half deficit, Water Valley led 26-24 at halftime. The Wildcats had their last lead after a Landon Lacy 3-pointer gave them a 33-32 edge midway through the third quarter.

Munday began to take control after that and took a 44-38 lead by the end of the third quarter. The Moguls led by as much as 49-38 early in the fourth before Water Valley fought back to within 50-47 with 2:25 to play. 

The Wildcats could never find the tying basket, however, and Munday finally sealed the win on a pair of free throws by sophomore Caisen Lee with 10 seconds remaining.

"They never quit," Water Valley head coach Matthew Mims said of his team's effort. "They've showed it throughout my three years of being around them. They don't ever quit. It doesn't matter what it looks like. It doesn't matter what the score is. They keep fighting. They could be down 20 and they'd find a way to fight back and get back into it. It's just kind of who they are and what they're about. I couldn't be more proud of what they've done this year and what they've done the last couple of years."

In addition to back-to-back regional final appearances in basketball, Water Valley's boys have also had back-to-back trips to the state semifinals in football.

Water Valley was led Friday by senior Landon Lacy and his sophomore brother, Branson, each of whom had 17 points.

Freshman Carson Willison had 16 points for Munday, while Lee had 15. Jariyis Williams, a 6-foot-5 senior, had 14 points and 14 rebounds.

"They just crashed the boards like crazy," Mims said of what Munday did to give his team the most trouble. "They've got height and they're athletic, and they crash the boards. And they did a really good job of putting pressure on us in that aspect. Their effort and intensity going and crashing the boards was huge. That's what got them the lead in the first place, and that's kind of what got them back in front in the second half."

Last year, Water Valley ended Munday's season in the regional semifinals in another battle, 45-40. The Wildcats then lost in the regional final 40-38 to Garden City.

"Right at this moment, it's hard to sit there and kind of soak it in and be happy about everything, because to come here and play a tough game you know you have an opportunity to win, it's hard to feel good about it right now," Mims said. "But you look at what these boys accomplished, it was a great season. And that's what I told them. Getting to this point, not many people get to do it, and they did it two years in a row, so that's something to hang your hat on and be proud of."

Munday 52, Water Valley 47

Munday   18   6   20   8 — 52

Water Valley   10   16   12   9 — 47

MUNDAY — Caisen Lee 15, Carson Willison 16, Jariyis Williams 14, Luke Bowman 3, Haiden Bowman 4.

WATER VALLEY — Branson Lacy 17, Landon Lacy 17, Lance Doss 7, Boston Wiese 4, Brylan Naylor 2.