Veterans Memorial sophomore Billy White III still remembers the sting of coming up short in last year’s district championship game against Miller, which was exactly one year to the date of Tuesday’s District 29-5A title game against Gregory-Portland.
The feeling of watching the opposition celebrate was more than enough motivation to help the Eagles finish the job this go-round and White III delivered by scoring a game-best 25 points, including five three-pointers, to lift Veterans Memorial to a 71-67 win.
“Last year we had that bittersweet taste and it stung us going into the playoffs,” White III said. “We knew we if we got this win, it would give us momentum going into the playoffs and ultimately going to state.”
It was the first meeting between the two schools since the 2022 season and the atmosphere as Ray High School had every feel to a district championship matchup.
With all available seats accounted for, the stars on each team went to work with Trevor Jones setting the tone for the Wildcats with 21 first half points and White III scoring 11 first quarter points to give the Eagles some early momentum.