BOYS BASKETBALL: McCalop helps Panthers clinch playoff berth with authority

Keouvion McCalop had never dunked the basketball twice in a game, but that’s what he promised to do Friday night as an early birthday present for his grandmother, Shirley Williams.

Making good on that promise seemed unlikely when the fourth quarter started at the Permian Fieldhouse, and whether the home team would win also was in doubt. Permian was tied with an Abilene High team that couldn’t even stay close to the Panthers when the teams first met Jan. 11 in Abilene.

But McCalop came through on both counts down the stretch. The 6-foot-6 junior capped an 11-point quarter with a pair of one-handed slams during the final minute, punctuating a 55-44 win that clinched the Panthers’ first official playoff berth since the 2007-08 season.

“I’m really excited. I just did it for my granny’s birthday,” said McCalop, whose present was delivered two days early. “I told her I was going to get two dunks, and I had to do what I had to do.”

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McCalop, who finished with a game-high 18 points, threw down the first dunk after catching a lob pass from Robert Thomas along the left baseline. He worked harder for the second one, blocking a shot and getting a steal on the same defensive possession, then going coast-to-coast and elevating for the slam with 15 seconds remaining.

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McCalop’s last eight points came during the final four minutes, after he pleaded with Permian coach Danny Wright to let him stay in the game with four fouls. Wright obliged, and now the Panthers (20-6 overall, 7-3 District 3-5A) have 20 wins in a season for the first time in five seasons under Wright.

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They’re also headed to the postseason for the first time in two years, but that appearance didn’t count. Permian had to forfeit the 2009-10 season for using ineligible player Guerdwich Montimer, who was then a 22-year-old posing as 16-year-old Jerry Joseph.

“I’m proud of them,” Wright said. “That was a tough ballgame, because you’re playing to clinch a playoff spot.”

Abilene High (12-17, 4-6), which lost to Permian by 16 points less than a month ago, made it tough on the Panthers. The Eagles went on a 13-0 run during a nine-minute stretch in the first half and led 22-20 at halftime.

But Permian, and especially Dominique Krumnow, played with more purpose after the break. The senior guard, who was challenged by his stepfather Wright, scored eight of his 11 points during the first four minutes of the third quarter to put the Panthers up by six.

“He may not be textbook, but he makes plays,” Wright said of Krumnow, who hit two 3-pointers but was 1-of-5 from the free-throw line. “And he’s got some toughness. He went to the basket hard and hit the floor a few times.”

Abilene High rallied to tie it heading into the fourth quarter, which was a defensive struggle early on. Permian’s Jorrion Wilson broke the tie with a double-putback effort after two missed free throws by Juwan McGee, and about one minute later he helped break the last tie with an on-target pass to McCalop underneath.

Those plays were indicative of Wilson’s performance and of Permian’s night as a whole. Despite being “sick as a dog,” according to Wright, Wilson scored seven points, made good passes, got key rebounds and played solid defense.

“You got to want it more than the other person next to you,” Wilson said. “You got to go get it.”

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