West Hardin Oilers oust Sabine from UIL Basketball Playoff

Story and photos by Aaron Justin
Special for TexSport Publications
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

SARATOGA, TEXAS (February 26, 2020) The West Hardin Oilers came into the 2020 Boys UIL Basketball playoffs with a lot to prove. All season long the Oilers piled up the wins. Coming into the playoffs, the Oilers were undefeated class 24-2A champions. This was a huge accomplishment for the Oilers as it was their first time to ever accomplish this great feat. 

All season long the Oilers continued to prove that they were forces on the court but like the late Rodney Dangerfield would always say “I get no respect!” The Oilers seemed to never get a glance as being one of the top programs in the area but that did not bother them. Kenny Hoffpauir doesn’t usually put much stock in rankings, but West Hardin’s head boys basketball coach did mention that it would be nice to see his boys talked about like others in the area. 

Coming into this match-up with the Tigers of West Sabine, the Oilers took Hull-Daisetta to overtime and won. The Oilers finished out as the number one seed while West Sabine had to battle Zavalla for the number four seed. This match-up proved to be to much for the Tigers of West Sabine. 

From the opening tipoff, the Oilers proved to be the more dominate team. Led by a entire senior starting five the Oilers opened up the scoring early. Russell Payne found the bucket numerous times during the first quarter. Lance Mosley and Keaton Castilaw dished the ball to Payne as he dominated the boards. Justin Cook and Jake Strahan also added on with scores of their own. Cook is a three point sniper and gets his points from behind the line. The only time the Tigers threatened the Oilers was in the second quarter. Going into halftime the Oilers lead was five, 27 to 22. 

During his halftime speech Coach Hoffpauir stressed the importance of sticking to their schedule and executing their game plan. The halftime message was heard clear as the Oilers went on to blast the Tigers off the court. As the final buzzer rang the scoreboard showed 61-40 in favor of the Oilers. The Oilers were now Bi-District Champions and focused on the next round, Regionals. 

The Oilers will battle the Wolves of San Augustine High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. The time will be announced at a later date. The game will be played at Woodville High School.