Tornadoes’ 2nd title
Texline crosses finish line in 1st place By DAVE WOHLFARTH Silky Sullivan was a racehorse famous for come-from-behind finishes. Will Luther will be remembered forever in Texline basketball lore for his Silky-like explosion in the stretch in the state Class 1A championship game last spring. With his Tornadoes trailing by four points with less than a minute left in the game, Luther scored eight points in 40 seconds to provide Texline with a thrilling 54-53 victory over Slidell. Luther swished a 3-pointer from 27 feet, a 2-pointer from 13 feet and another 3 from 22 feet to put the Tornadoes ahead by a point with 12 seconds left. Slidell was unable to get off a shot in the remaining time. No photo was needed at the finish. Will Luther, left, Coach Coby Beckner, Stratton Potter and Noel Lozano show off a banner commemorating the With his team trailing by two Texline Tornadoes’ 2021 Class 1A state championship along with the state title trophy and net. (Photo by Cathy with 17 seconds showing, Texline Martindale) Coach Coby Beckner had instructed Luther during a timeout. to our four free throws. That was a little bit one-sided there. We “He told me we needed a 2, but if they collapsed (on defense) had a lot of things going against us.” to let it go,” Luther said. However, Beckner praised his players for not losing their poise. That’s exactly what happened after Luther darted past his “I never felt like our guys were panicking,” he said. There defender and received a pass from Noel Lozano. was no finger-pointing or disagreements in the final huddles. “I pulled it back and shot it right behind the line,” Luther Such was not the case a couple of months earlier when Texline said. “It was perfect.” suffered a 71-68 home-court loss to District 3-1A co-champion Luther, a 6-4 junior forward last spring, didn’t save all his Nazareth. That loss – considered the turning point of the season sterling play for the final moments. He finished the game with – created some tension in the Tornadoes’ locker room. 21 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals and was named the “We didn’t play our best and when we got to the locker room, Class 1A state tourney MVP. we weren’t really the best of friends,” Luther said. “We were Something else occurred in that final timeout. Luther credited arguing about things that happened during the game, trying to a sophomore for keeping the Tornadoes tuned in to the game. make excuses.” That was 5-9 sophomore guard Stratton Potter. Beckner used the loss as a teaching point. “He kept telling us, ‘We’re going to win this. All we need to “They hit a 3 from the corner right at the buzzer and were do is get some stops,’” Luther said. “Luckily, they missed tons celebrating like they won the state championship. And that was of free throws.” all on video, which I showed these guys several times,” he said. Indeed, Potter kept the Tornadoes’ hopes alive. “I thought the ceiling for us was as high as the ceiling could “I just told everybody that we were still in it, and it wasn’t get. We just got to figure out how to quit being momma’s boys over. Somebody’s going to hit a big shot and we’d still be in it,” and first-born or last-born babies and grow up a little bit and start Potter said. “I truly believed that we were still going to win.” being accountable for our efforts. You know, it was kinda a hard conversation. But I think it was one that we needed.” A punch in the stomach The Tornadoes shouldn’t have needed Luther’s heroics at the Loss sparked a resurgence end. They had led most of the game and had a 12-point bulge So that loss, only Texline’s third in a four-loss campaign, entering the fourth quarter. But Slidell went on a 16-0 run that left sparked a resurgence, according to Lozano, the 6-5 junior forward. Coach Beckner feeling like he had been punched in the stomach. “After that game, we kinda became like a brotherhood because “I really did, yeah, because it all happened so fast,” he said. we knew what we wanted, and everybody was on the same page “I never, ever felt like we were choking. I felt like it was more that we wanted to go to state and win state,” he said. that we just couldn’t hit shots. Yeah, and they shot 26 free throws (Continued on next page) 20
Special Features
2021-2022 Panhandle-Plains Basketball
