POLO – Skylar Paulson had a tough closing act to follow in the last minute of Eastland's 56-39 regional championship victory over Polo on Friday night.

His fellow junior, Dalton Shaner, hit two 3s at the end of the first half that capped an 8-0 burst that put the Cougars up 30-19 at the break.

To hit the latter, the 6-1 guard created space with a filthy, left-to-right crossover that turned Brad Cavanaugh inside-out along the right side of the perimeter. He held his right hand up for a moment after drawing nothing but net, then turned and pounded his chest as he stamped toward halfcourt and the buzzer sounded.