Pflugerville Defeats Klein Forest 63 - 60

Cameron Blue had another dominating performance as the Pflugerville High boys basketball team held off Klein Forest for a 63-60 win in the area round of the 5A playoffs.

As Pflugerville’s leading scorer Deon Mitchell watched from the bench in foul trouble, Blue finished the night with his second-straight 20-point effort in as many playoff games. He had 22 points and 10 rebounds plus two blocks and a steal. Jamal Shabazz added nine points and nine rebounds. Jordan Major came off the bench to score nine points and Mitchell and Darrian Dempsey each had eight.

The Panther bench played a big role and they had good guard play which was instrumental in our keeping the lead.

Pflugerville (29-4) built a 50-39 lead late in the third quarter when T.J. Williams dropped in a tear drop with less than two minutes to play. The Eagles (26-12), however, were not going down without a fight.

D’Markian Sallie knocked in a 3-pointer and Tyree Gray scored three more points to cut the Panthers lead to 53-45 at the end of the third.

Seven more points from Sallie, Klein Forest trimmed the Pflugerville lead to 55-54 in the first four minutes of the final quarter. Blue scored on a put-back to momentarily stem the Eagle surge, but Rafael Farley buried a three, tying the game at 57-57 with 2:45 to play. The Panthers answered with free throws from Shabazz and Mitchell, retaking a three-point lead in the process. Kaveon Hall-Davis knocked down a basket for Klein Forest to pull them within one at 60-59 with a minute to play but again Mitchell answered, burying two charity shots to push the Panther lead to 62-59.

Pflugerville led 62-60 after Derail Green hit one of two free throws for the Eagles and with 14 seconds left Mitchell was intentionally fouled. He missed the front end of his one-and-one and Klein Forest came up with the rebound, however as Javonte Patrick tried to take the ball up the court he dribbled it off his foot and turned possession back over to the Panthers with 10 seconds to play. Once again, Klein Forest was forced to intentionally foul, this time sending Storm Woods to the line. Woods hit one of his two free throws putting Pflugerville up 63-60 with 10 seconds to play. Patrick got a shot off at the buzzer to try and tie the game for the Eagles, but it was no good and the Panthers escaped with the win.

The Panthers needed a tough win like that, in district they were winning by double-digits. It was good for them to see what it’s like to be in a pressure situation.

The Panthers move on to the region quarterfinals where they will face The Woodlands on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Hearne.

Pflugerville 63, Klein Forest 60

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Klein Forest	12	18	15	15	—	60
Pflugerville	16	22	15	10	—	63

FHS: Davis 2, Sallie 13, Patrick 5, D. Green 8, Farley 5, Rideaux 4, S. Green 13, Gray 7
PHS: Mitchell 10, Shabazz 11, Williams 2, Major 9, Woods 3, Dempsey 8, Blue 20
Records: P: 29-4, KF: 226-12.

McNeil losses to the Woodlands 61 - 58

McNeil started the first round of the playoffs with a win against a good Akins team, and had some momentum going into the game against the Woodlands.  The first quarter was a defensive battle between these two 5A schools with both teams only managing 15 points each.

Once both teams were able to get a good feel of each other they began to turn it on in the second quarter.  Both Blair Williams and Hayden Worrell got things going for the Mavericks pushing the ball up court and trying to get points in transition. The Mavericks went in at half time leading the Highlanders 37 to 34 and things were looking good for the McNeil offense.

The third quarter was the quarter that may have lost the contest for the Mavericks.  The offense that was on fire in the second went cold in the third only managing to score 8 points the lowest out put of the game for both teams.  For the Highlanders junior Nolan Cass, along with seniors Brandon Caporoal, and Brain Nordstrom picked it up offensively keeping the Highlanders in the game.

At the start of the fourth both teams were now tied at 45 and it was any ones game. This game was going to go down to the last shot, as each team exchanged baskets throughout the quarter.  The Woodlands’ duo of Nordstrom and Caporale scored all but eight of the Highlanders’ points in the second half, but they got some help with the game on the line.

The score was knotted at 54 after a 3-pointer by McNeil’s Jacob Jiongo with only two minutes left, but Nolan Cass drained his own 3 only 10 seconds later to put the Highlanders back on top.

The Mavericks (18-13) tied the game again on the next possession with a trey by Hayden Worrell, but a jump shot by Garret Colonna gave The Woodlands a two-point advantage with only 52 seconds remaining.

After trading fruitless possessions, McNeil had the ball and called timeout to devise a play. The Woodlands covered all of the Mavs’ shooters beyond the arc, so Robert Waters took it to the hoop for the equalizer.

Waters missed, though, and Cass came down with the rebound. He was immediately fouled with only 12 seconds left in the game. Cass hit both of his free throws for a 61-57 lead, and The Woodlands fouled Worrell on the next possession. He hit only one of his two free throws.

McNeil then fouled immediately, and the Highlanders missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Mavs had one last shot with 2.9 seconds left in the game, but their inbounds pass was deflected by Caporale and Wes Cole came up with the ball.

This was a heart breaker for the Mavs but we want to congratulate them on a great season and look forward to seeing them in the playoffs again next year.

Woodlands 61, McNeil 58

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Woodlands	15	19	11	16	—	61
McNeil	15	22	8	13	—	58

Woodlands: Cass 11, Caporoal 13, Colonna 12, Netzger 3, Nordstrom 16, Cole 6
MHS: Williams 16, Waters 7, Jiongo 8, Worrell 13, Jo.Jones 4, Je.Jones 7, Pepper 3
Records: W: 31-3, M: 20-13.

Bowie losses to Spring Dekaney

As you move through the playoffs the games just get tougher but in this game Bowie should have had the advantage but with only 7 points in the first quarter and 7 points in the second you would think they were in trouble.  But the Dekaney Wildcats didn't fair much better scoring 10 in the first and 4 in the second so going into the half the teams were tied at 14.

The Wildcats did a good job of containing forward Connor Robinson who finished the game with only 15 points.  Paul Baxter dropped 14 of his own but the big story in this game was the lack of offense from the rest of the Bulldogs team. We said it earlier in the season, the Bulldogs would need to find a way to get both Mo Isom, and Jacob Varela involved in the offense if they wanted to move through the playoffs. Both Isom and Varela only managed 9 points in the game and that was all of the scoring for the Bulldogs offense.  Where were O'Reilly, Jefferson, Clark and the rest of the Bulldogs players in a game like this players have to come ready to contribute and the Bulldogs could have used anything from the rest of the team.

Bowie struggled to contain senior Jalen Hughes who averaged 19 ppg this season but was able to drop 26 in the contest against the Bulldogs.  The difference maker in this game might have been the outstanding shooting from the line by the Wildcats who shot 17 of 20 from the charity stripe.

Congratulations to the Bowie Bulldogs and we hope to see them again next season.  

Spring Dekaney 53, Bowie 47

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Spring Dekaney	10	4	18	21	—	53
Bowie	7	7	13	20	—	47

DHS: Dison 17, Burkett 2, Sheperd 4, Hughes 26, Green 2, Hubbard 2
BHS: Baxter 14, Isom 9, Robinson 15, Varela 9
Records: SD: 30-5, B: 26-7.

St. Michael's Losses to Houston St. Thomas 52 - 37

The St. Michael's Crusaders came into Fridays game against Houston's St. Thomas Eagles feeling good and looking forward to a great game.  They left the Austin area on Thursday afternoon after a short practice wanting to be in the Houston area in the morning so they wouldn't have to make the long trip the day of the game.

The game started with not much offense from either team, I could say it was a defensive battle but realistically neither team was making shots.  Both teams had open looks but nothing was going in, maybe it was nerves anxiety or to much adrenaline either way they were both struggling and the teams went in at half time tied at 18.

The third quarter went much like the first two not much offense from either team.  Both teams were playing good defense and the Crusaders had several steals in the front court but shooters were just not hitting the mark.  Captain Jake Kocher attempted to take control on several occasions driving into the lane but each time he was met by 6'9" junior Jeremy King who had 4 blocks against Kocher and contested many more.

The Eagles refused to get out of the zone 2 - 3 defense that they were playing and when they tried to pressure the full court the Crusaders took advantage and scored.  On the few occasions that the Eagles did play a man to man it was obvious that they were at a disadvantage against the Crusaders guards who managed to get passed their defender with relative ease but just could not finish.

Going into the fourth quarter the Eagles were up 31 - 25 and this was still any bodies game.  But late in the fourth things just got uglier for the Crusaders some one must have turned on the A/C because the Crusader shooters went ice cold and not just from long range even a layup was not a sure thing for this team that has averaged about 60 ppg this season.  The Crusaders were 4 for 24 from 3 pt range and did fair much better inside the arc shooting 8 for 29. Shooting only 17% from three point range and 28% from inside the arc there was just no way that they were going to stay in the game long.

Looking at the final score you may be incline to say WOW! St. Michael's got dominated.  But that couldn't be farther from the truth.  Neither team played well and the Crusaders didn't do anything to lose this game.  They only had 7 turn overs, they didn't have a great rebounding game with only 21 for the game but were not dominated considering that the Eagles had a 6'9" and a 6'7" player on the court. The Eagles defense didn't keep the Crusaders from getting good open looks, shots just did not go in.

We would still like to congratulate the Crusaders on a great season and hope to see them in the playoffs again next year.

St. Thomas 52, St. Michael's 37

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
St. Thomas	11	7	13	21	—	52
St. Michael's	13	5	7	12	—	37

ST: Sanders 9, Taylor 1, Jones 6, Hurley 9, Brown 12, Brogna 7, Gheriot 1, Longino 1, King 6
SM: Bloonmquist 2, Maldonado 1 (0-5 0%) (, Kocher 16 (6-20 30%), Cady 2, Birch 5 (1-11 9%), Stanka 3, Whitlock 6 (2-8 25%), Wurzel 2
Records: SM: 23-17.

Central Catholic Missed Chances Losses 42 - 41

By Lorne Chan, 

Central Catholic built its season around Cole Martinez and moments like the one that faced the Buttons on Saturday.

Down by a point with 12 seconds left, the Buttons had the ball. But this time, there were no buzzer-beating heroics in a 42-41 loss against Plano John Paul II.

Martinez's high school career ended without touching the ball in the TAPPS 5A regional final.

“We watched Cole John Paul II coach Chad Evans said. “We know how good he is. We're lucky that he didn't get the ball in his hands.”

The No. 4 Buttons' 35-6 season ended on a frantic final play at South San's Durbon Center, where Martinez was used as a decoy.

Tommy Berry drove with about seven seconds left but lost control of the ball. It bounced to teammate Robert Johnson, who missed a 16-footer. Geovan Franco got an offensive rebound, but his putback missed off the rim.

“The play was set up for Tommy,” Central coach Romy Vela said. “He had the shot. The ball just slipped.”

Central had chances to put the game away but was shut out for the final 3:42.

The Buttons took a 41-37 lead on a Martinez 3-pointer — he had all eight Central points in the fourth quarter and finished with 20. The Buttons missed the front end of three one-and-one free-throw opportunities in the final minutes.

John Paul II (29-7) rallied, and Jae Ricketts hit two free throws with 16 seconds left to take the lead. Matt Thompson scored a team-high 13.

John Paul's key was physical defense, and it was focused on stopping Martinez, a 6-foot-2 guard who leads all area players and set the Buttons' single-season record with 905 points.

Drew Giddens blanketed Martinez for much of the game, and Martinez struggled with seven points in the first half. Berry scored all 11 of his points in the first to keep Central within four at the break.

“Drew takes pride in his defense,” Evans said. “He can't make a layup, but he can play defense. Our team is based on being physical like him.”

Martinez got going in the second half but didn't take a shot in the final minutes. He finished 8 of 17 from the field, including 3 of 7 from behind the arc. He also took one free throw, finishing off a three-point play in the third quarter.

Central entered Saturday with a 4-0 record in games decided by three points or fewer, including a 68-65 victory against Antonian on Jan. 29 where Martinez hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer before a crowd of 2,500.

Martinez said he was confident in the final play.

“We got a good look,” Martinez said. “It just wasn't meant to be. We went above and beyond expectations this season, and we can't let this game take away from that.”

Austin High Defeats Klein 51 - 43

The Klein Bearcats came off a good win against always tough Kingwood in the first round of the playoffs and were looking forward to their match up against the Austin High Maroons.  With 5 players on the varsity roster above 6'5" the Bearcats definitely had the height advantage in the match up.  With Seniors David Gerhart 6'6", Kyle Szymanski 6'7", Chris Loving 6'4", as well as junior Cole McDonald 6'6" and sophomore
Andrew Kelly 6'7" they looked at taking control of the middle and stopping the Maroons guard Eric McClellan from getting to the basket.

The Bearcats Coach Glenn Arnold looked like he had the right game plan and his team ready for this second round match up. 

The first quarter was a defensive battle with not much offense from both teams, the Bearcats did a good job of keeping McClellan from getting to the basket holding the Maroons to only 10 points in the first quarter.  The only good thing we can say about this first quarter for the Maroons was that they also did a great job of holding the Bearcats offense to 10 points.

The Maroons picked it up in the second quarter getting some points in transition and scoring 13 points to Klein's 7.  Klein continued to do a good job of holding McClellan as well as senior Chance Robbins under their first half averages.  If not for the offensive performance of senior Adam Gonzalez the Maroons may have found themselves down at the half.  The Maroons went in with a 6 point lead and seemed to have the momentum in their favor.

The third quarter was another sleeper offensively, this was good time to take a bathroom break or get a snack at the concession if you weren't able to get one at half time.  Offensively, both teams just went cold, or maybe their defensive play was just so good no one could score.  I have to guess it was more of the teams just going ice cold.  Both teams were only able to put up 7 points in the third and for two of the best teams in the state, that kind of offense can come back and haunt them down the road.

Both teams were able to get back in the game offensively in the fourth quarter, but the Bearcats defense was still causing problems for McClellan who only managed to put up 6 points for the game well below his regular season average.  Also having problems finding the basket were Robbins and Reinking making this game a much closer game that was expected.  The Maroons should give the game ball to senior Adam Gonzalez he was able to put up 19 points keeping the Maroons in the contest.  In the end the 6 point half time deficit was more than the Bearcats could make up allowing the Maroons to move on to the next round of the playoffs.

We want to Congratulate the Bearcats on a good season, they play in a very competitive Houston district they should be very proud and we look forward to seeing them again in next years playoffs.

Austin High 51, Klein 43

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Klein	10	7	7	19	—	43
Austin High	10	13	7	21	—	51

KHS: Moore 5, Shockley 10, Baxter 8, Rowe 7, Sterondki 4, Pelley 1, Loving 8
AHS: McClellan 6, Wright 4, Robbins 8, Gonzales 19, Strake 4, Reinking 10
Records: AH: 29-3.

Austin High Defeats Anderson 67 - 41

By Danny Davis
Chance Robbins got hit hard on Monday night. His teammates, however, hit back harder.

Fueled partially by two hard fouls on Robbins before halftime, Austin High stormed past Leander in the third quarter on its way to a 67-41 win. The bidistrict playoff victory, Austin High's first boys basketball postseason win in 50 years, sends the Maroons into an area-round matchup against either Humble Kingwood or Klein.

"It's always been our goal to do this," Austin High senior Adam Gonzales said. "We're very happy for this win but we knew this win was ours and we've just got to prepare for the second round."
Leander grabbed its only lead early in the first quarter, and an alley-oop dunk from Alex Reinking to Eric McClellan gave the Maroons an 8-3 lead with less than two minutes to go in the quarter. Austin High ended the quarter with a 12-6 lead.

While McClellan's dunk set off some early fireworks, things got explosive in the second quarter, when Robbins was twice the victim of a hard foul . With 6:24 left in the quarter, the senior forward was tackled while trying to track down a rebound, and he had to leave the game with an apparent leg injury. Robbins soon returned, but he was later head-butted by Leander's Byron McGehee, on a play that saw the Leander senior nail a three-pointer.

Robbins was unable to draw a foul on either play but he did receive a bruise under his right eye on the McGehee three-point play. Those plays, however, lit a fire under an Austin High team that led by only five points after McGehee's three-pointer.

Austin High closed the quarter on a 6-3 run and Gonzales hit an off-balance shot at the buzzer.
"We were pretty fired up," Robbins said. "Lots of cheap shots in the first half, I was angry. It was good, it kept us fired up."

Austin High took control in the third quarter as the normally defensive-minded Gonzales scored eight points, while Reinking added six points.

Leander, which saw a 25-17 halftime score turn into a 45-26 deficit by the end of the quarter, made its first two shots of the second half. The Lions didn't score again until Donald McBride hit a three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.

"Third quarter has always been our (quarter) all year," Gonzales said. "I like to think we're the best third-quarter team in the state."  Austin High put the game away with 18 free throws in the fourth quarter. For the game, Austin High connected on 35 of 48 free throws.

"It feels amazing," Robbins said of the win. "It's great for the whole school ."

Reinking led Austin High with 18 points, while McClellan had 16 and Gonzales had 12 . Leander was led by Mark Nwakamma's 14 points
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

McNeil Upsets Akins 66 - 53

This game seamed to be the best match up in the first round of Region II, the Akins Eagles started off strong dominating the McNeil Mavericks in the first quarter.  The Eagles held the Mavericks to only 8 points in the first and it looked like they were going to have an easy time.  Guards Malcolm Canada and Yolonzo Moore were working well against McNeils defense which could find an answer for them.

Not sure what Hagmann said to his team during the break between the first and second quarter, but whatever it was it worked.  The Mavericks defense came out in the second quarter and they looked like a new team.  The Maverick held the Eagles to only 8 points in the second and scored 20 of their own going into the half with a 5 point lead and a lot of confidence.  The Eagles defense seem to disappear in this quarter they seemed to be lost at times not making the right rotations and allowing the Maverick players to get a good look at the basket.

If the Eagles wanted to stay in this game they were going to have to make some changes to start the third quarter. 

The Mavericks defense looked a little slow at the start of the third quarter but offensively they were able to match the Eagles shot for shot.  The Eagles looked confused at times and frustrated, when things went well offensively they couldn't stop the Mavericks on the defensive end.  With Canada and Moore the only Eagles scoring it looked like the Eagles were going to have a difficult fourth quarter if other players like Anthony Rivera who averaged 12 ppg, and Jeremy Mendez 11 ppg didn't start to contribute.

At the start of the fourth quarter the Mavericks held on to an 11 point lead which was just to much for the Eagles to over come.  With Moore not having his regular 22 ppg night and Rivera only scoring 5 for the night they just could not make up any ground on the Mavericks. 

Congratulations to the Eagles for another great season, but the Mavericks will move on with an upset aginst the runner up in Travis Counties, 5A District 15.

McNeil 66, Akins 53

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Akins	15	8	19	11	—	53
McNeil	8	20	25	13	—	66

AHS: Canada 19, Hollins 6, P. Rivera 8, Moore 11, Richardson 4, A. Rivera 5
MHS: Williams 24, Waters 11, Jiongo 9, Worrell 8, Jo. Jones 5, Je. Jones 9
Records: M: 20-12, A: 23-10.

Pflugerville Defeats Anderson 76 - 60

There was little doubt that the Pflugerville Tigers would move into the second round of the playoffs defeating Anderson High.  That said you would not have known that with the way the Anderson Trojans came out, in the first quarter.  The Tigers were held to only 9 points their lowest out put of the season.

The second quarter was not much better for the Tigers, the Trojan offense matched the Tigers point for point throughout the second with senior Justin Clark helping keep the Trojans in the game.  Anderson went in at half only down 2 points and with the momentum on their side.  Tiger guard Deon Mitchell struggled to get going in the first half but those who know Mitchell knew it was just a matter of time before he would pick up.

With the lead starting the third quarter the Tigers came out wanting to speed up the game but the Trojan defense was not having it.  They continued to play strong holding the Tigers to only 17 and staying within 6 points going into the fourth quarter.  Junior Hayden Graham along with Clark continued to keep the Trojans in the game offensively.

With only a 6 point lead starting the fourth the Tigers knew they needed to pick it up on both sides of the ball.  The Trojans began to look tired and maybe they had just used up what they had in the tank trying to keep the game close through the first three quarters.  As they got into the middle of the fourth things began to open up for the Tigers the lanes got wider and shot began to fall.  In the end the Tigers out scored the Trojans 28 to 18 in the fourth giving them the win and moving them on to the next round.

I have to give the Anderson team and coaching staff a lot of credit.  Coach Leal Anderson really had his team ready to play and it showed early on.  Great season Trojans we look forward to seeing you all in the playoffs for a lot of years.

Pflugerville 76, Anderson 60

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Anderson	9	20	13	18	—	60
Pflugerville	9	22	17	28	—	76

AHS: Ballee 3, Clark 17, N. Bach 2, Poole 3, Kiely 2, Wilson 8, R. Bach 5, Frame 7, Graham 13
PHS: Mitchell 20, Shabazz 14, Williams 2, Major 7, Dempsey 8, Blue 23, Moss 2

Bowie Defeats Georgetown 68 - 59

February 21, this was the first round of the 5A Region II playoffs and Bowie was faced with District 16 runner up the Georgetown Eagles.  The Eagles finished district play with a record of 7 - 5 finishing up behind district leader Pflugerville, while the Bulldogs finished their district season with a record of 7 - 4 and placed third over all in district.

This match up looked to be the best match up in Region II, with Georgetown having the slight advantage statistically.  Georgetown also had three defenders senior Logan Webb 6'5", junior Casey Heller 6'5" and junior Joe Hauser 6'6" that would have the height advantage over Bowie forward Connor Robinson making it difficult for Robinson to score under the basket. That being said they were unable to keep Robinson from causing damage finishing with 24 points.

Making it a little easier for Robinson were junior Mo Isom who dropped 13 points of his own along with senior Jacob Varela who contributed 14.  Guard Paul Baxter had a good night distributing the ball well and scoring 11 points of his own.  This has to be one of Bowie's best team efforts this season and it could not have come at a better time.  If they continue to play this way and they continue to get this type of contribution from Isom and Varela they may just surprise a few teams and work their way through the playoffs.

Bowie 68, Georgetown 59

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Bowie	22	17	17	12	—	68
Georgetown	23	11	14	11	—	59

BHS: Baxter 11, Jefferson 2, Isom 13, Robinson 24, Varela 14, O'Reilly 4.
GHS: Webb 19, Kerr 16, Vandusen 2, Heller 4, Cruz 2, Hardge 13, Vick 3.
Records: G: 16-17, B: 26-6. Will play Spring DeKaney, time and location tba.

TAPPS 5A Regional Playoff Schedule

Bishop Lynch (Dallas) vs Prestonwood Christian (Plano)
Prestonwood Christian will host district bunkmate Bishop Lynch on Saturday at a time to be determined. Prestonwood secured a regular season sweep of Lynch, defeating the Friars to the tune of 90-57 and 81-58. In both games the Lions took the lead early and held on never allowing the Friars within 6 points of course this being the playoffs anything can happen and I look for Bishop Lynch to play well and make it a little more difficult for the Lions the third time around.

John Paul II (Plano) vs Central Catholic (San Antonio)
Central Catholic will host John Paul II next week and they will need to play one of their best games.  John Paul II is the only team this season to defeat Prestonwood in district play beating the Lions by 11 points 68 to 57 back in December.  To advance to this game against Central, they had to defeat St. Pius X one of TAPPS strongest teams out of Houston.

St. Michael's Catholic Academy (Austin) vs St. Thomas Catholic HS (Houston)
On Friday February 25 St. Michael's will be in Houston playing in the second round of the TAPPS 5A playoffs.  Their opponent St. Thomas Catholic moved on by defeating Liberty Christian in double overtime 51 - 43.  Liberty Christian finished the season with a 4 and 6 district record behind Prestonwood Christian, Bishop Dunne, and John Paul II in District 1.  St. Michael's has a great chance at advancing if they continue to play great team offense and get on St. Thomas defensively.  The Crusaders will need more help rebounding so they will need forwards Alex Cady and Joseph Tybor to get in the paint and hit the boards.  
Bishop Dunne (Dallas) vs St. Anthony (San Antonio)
St. Anthony will have a tough match up this week against District 1 runner up Bishop Dunne.  Bishop Dunne was the runner up behind Prestonwood with a record of 8 - 3 in district.  This will be a tough test for St. Anthony and I just don't see them moving on to the next round against the Falcons.  If this does happen to be St. Anthony's final game they had a great season defeating district rival St. Michael's Academy early in the season and winning in the first round of the TAPPS 5A playoffs. Good luck to both teams this week.

St. Michael's Defeats El Paso Cathedral 60 - 49

The St. Michael's offense has been known to start off slow and pick it up as the game progresses, but not last night.  In last nights win against El Paso SMCA came out ready and fired up.

6' 5" forward Joseph Tybor was assigned the duty of attempting to slow down Cathedrals #23 point guard Mason Zuniga who has averaged 10 ppg and 8.4 assist.  Tybor did an excellent job.  With his height and long arms Zuniga struggeld to get off any uncontested shots and had a difficult time locating his teammates.  Along with Tybor, Clarencio Guerrero was brought in off the bench to give Tybor a breather and also did an excellent job slowing down Zuniga.  As the game progressed Zuniga became visibly upset at one point under cutting Austin Burch as he attempted to pick up a lose ball.

With team captain Jake Kocher struggling offensively guard Austin Burch and forward Adam Whitlock picked up their offense with Burch scoring 13 and Whitlock added 15 of his own.  Along with his 15 points Whitlock added 7 rebounds and 3 assist making it one of his best games of the season and it could not have come at a better time.

Cathedral scored a shot just before half time cutting the lead to 3 points and looked like they had the momentum going in at half time.  But that was short lived the Crusaders came out on fire in the second half pushing the ball up court and breaking down Cathedral's full court press.  Guard Jaymes Maldonado had 5 assist most of them in transition where he excels at pushing the ball and finding his teammates.  He had a fantastic no look pass to forward Alex Cady who finished it off with a left hand layup that electrified the fans.

By the middle of the fourth quarter with the Crusaders leading by 10 points it was easy to tell that Cathedral was not longer in the game emotionally.  The Crusaders had an answer for anything they attempted and when they scored the Crusaders came right back and scored one of their own.  As the fourth quarter counted down the Crusaders left little doubt who was going to move on winning the game 60 to 49 and moving on to play St. Thomas on Friday night in Houston Texas.

St. Michael's 60, El Paso Cathedral 49

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
St. Michael's	17	7	18	18	—	60
El Paso Cathedral	8	13	14	14	—	49

SM: Kocher 20, Burch 13, Whitlock 15, Cady 5, Guerrero 4, Maldonado 3.
EPC: Reyes 15, Rodriguez 15, Zuniga 7, Flores 8, Gutierrez 2, Markham 2.
Records: C: 20-17, SM: 23-16. TAPPS Area. Will play Houston St. Thomas.

Antonian Falls to Prestwood Christian 59 - 67

BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com

Published: Saturday, February 19, 2011 6:50 PM CST

The Prestonwood Christian Academy boys basketball team has been known to run opposing teams ragged a time or two.  In some cases, the Lions transition game can resemble five gazelles scampering past a herd of sheep.  At times, visiting Antonian Prep fell into the category of the latter as a second-quarter surge erased a brief Apache lead in Saturdays area-round TAPPS 5A Div. I playoff matchup and spearheaded an eventual 67-59 win for the Lions.

There were two stretches where [Antonian] had to call several timeouts, said Brad Freeman, Prestonwood head coach, where we were playing as good as I've ever seen a team play. Our transition game was absolutely phenomenal during those stretches.  After the Apaches erased an early 13-6 Prestonwood lead following a 3-pointer by Jonathan Holmes that capped a 7-0 Antonian run, the teams proceeded to trade the lead four times before the Lions shifted out of first gear.

Six straight points from sophomore Julius Randle, the last of which was a fastbreak dunk off an assist from sophomore Marquan Botley, turned a 16-15 Lion deficit into a 21-16 Prestonwood lead.  Eight more unanswered Prestonwood points were poured on, all of which were triggered in transition. Junior Zach Peters slung home a fadeaway from the elbow, junior Austin Rettig finished a pair of layups and Botley dumped in a floater to leave the Apaches staring at a 29-18 deficit by the end of the first half.

Randle led all scorers with 29 points and 16 rebounds, with Botley and Peters chipping in 14 and 10, respectively.  Antonian made Prestonwood work in the second half though, drawing to within seven points at 33-26 before yielding another torrid Lions run that spilled into the fourth quarter and allowed for a 47-30 Prestonwood cushion.

We put our best defender on [Holmes] in Aaron Wyatt, Freeman said. They both play in and out, so it was a pretty good matchup even though he had a couple inches on Aaron. [Wyatt] did a great job on him, though.

But after three quarters of helming the Apaches offense, Holmes got the needed support to draw an eerie silence from around the Prestonwood gym as Antonian rattled off 31 points in the fourth quarter, more than doubling its combined output from the previous three stanzas.  Holmes added seven points in the final frame, the last of which was an exclamation point dunk before bowing out of the game due to fouls, while Eric Garza chipped in all nine of his points in the fourth quarter.

But Prestonwood's lead never shrunk below six points at 59-53, as the Lions found themselves in the bonus with just under five minutes to play and capitalized to the tune of 16 free throws on 19 attempts in the fourth quarter alone.  The win advances the Lions to the regional quarterfinals, where they will host district bunkmate Bishop Lynch on Saturday at a time to be determined.

Prestonwood secured a regular season sweep of Lynch, besting the Friars to the tune of 90-57 and 81-58.

TAPPS 5A Playoff Schedule

San Antonion Antonian vs Plano Prestwood
For a team with two Major Division I recruits I would say that San Antonio's Antonian under achieved this season finishing third in their district behind San Antonio's Central Catholic and Austin's St. Michael's.  At the start of the season many predicted that Antonian would simply run away with the district title and maybe that expectation was what did them end this season.  To say they under achieved is an understatement much more was expected from this team but they failed to deliver.  Now they are faced with their biggest test of the season, taking on District leader Plano Prestwood a team that has two Major Div I recruits of their own on the roster and are ranked number one in the state.  I think Antonian has the team to pull off the upset but they have to play hard on both sides of the ball and for four complete quarters.  Good luck to both teams.

San Antonio Central Catholic vs Addison Trinity Christian
This may seem like an easy win for San Antonio's Central Catholic however, Trinity Christian plays in the most competitive TAPPS district in Texas with teams like Plano Prestonwood, Bishop Dunne, and John Paul II all from the Dallas area.  Both Central Catholic and Trinity Christian have allowed an average of 55 ppg to their opponents While Central averaged 70 ppg to Trinity's 54 ppg.  That said, Trinity played in a game on January 4 against Plano Prestonwood and they held the Lions to only 57 points.  That along with the average 55 points allowed per game tells me that they have a good defense but are just stuck in a very competitive district.

Austin St. Michael's vs El Paso Cathedral
In a November 5 meeting between these two teams Cathedral pulled off a 59 to 52 win against St. Michael's.  Since then the Crusaders has averaged 61 ppg while the Irish have averaged 50.  St. Michael's front court of Jaymes Maldonado, Austin Burch and Jake Kocher have picked it up defensively and have been shutting down opponents and averaging about 10 steals per game in the last 5 games.  Additionally forward Adam Whitlock has taken over the rebounding duties and has been pulling down an average of 10 per game.  This St. Michael's team is playing at a much different level right now and should do well in this game.

San Antonio St. Anthony vs Laredo St. Augustine
I really don't know much about these two teams but statistically St. Anthony averaged 63 ppg while the district leader St. Augustine averaged 58 ppg.  St. Augustine only allowed an average of 55 ppg while St. Anthony allowed 59 ppg to their opponents.  Statistically both teams are pretty even and this should be a pretty good game.  If I had to guesse its going to be a low scoring game and will come down to the final quarter and maybe even the last position.  Good luck to both teams

Central Texas 4A Region II Playoff Schedule

Hendrickson 10-2-0 vs Waxahachie 9-6-0
On paper Hendrickson should not have much problem with Waxahachie in the first round of the playoffs.  With Hendrickson averaging 83 points per game this season and Waxahachie at 57 per game it looks like the Hawks should have a first round win.  That's on paper and this is the playoffs.  Waxahachie has a long winning tradition and their not going to roll over for the Hawks.  They will come in and put their defense up against the quick running offense of the Hawks and try to slow them down.  In the end I just don't think the Indians have enough to stop Hendrickson's big three all averaging in double figures this season, Jalen Harris 19 ppg, Fernando Rivera 15 ppg, and Jalen Washington 24 ppg.

Rudder 9-3-0 vs Red Oak 10-5-0
This may end up being a difficult game for the Rudder Rangers next week, against the Red Oak Hawks. Rudder averaged 78 ppg this season but allowed an average of 70 ppg to their opponents, while Red Oak averaged 63 ppg but only allowed 57 to their opponents.  If the Rangers are going to give up 70 plus points in this game they may find themselves out of the playoffs in the first round.  Their going to need big games from thier starting five if they want to see the second round of the playoffs.

Bastrop 9-3-0 vs Lancaster 12-3-0
These two teams could not be any closer statisticly than they already are the Bastrop Bears had a 63% winning percentage while the Lancaster Tigers had a 68% winning percentage this season.  The Bears averaged 65 ppg and the Tigers averaged 69 ppg and each team gave up 59 ppg to their opponents. This game will come down to turnovers and rebounding the team with the least amount of the turnover and the team that dominates the boards will move on to the next round.

Hutto 6-5-0 vs Ennis 15-1-0
While the Ennis Lions were the district leader in Region II District 15 they only averaged 65 ppg to the Hutto Hippos 67 ppg.  The stat that jumps out at me in this match up is points allowed, the Lions only gave up 56 ppg to their opponents while the Hippos gave up 61 ppg.  If the Lions defense keeps the Hippos to under 60 points in this game they should walk out with a first round win.  If the Hippos want to pull off the upset against the Lions their going to have to have a big game from their three seniors Denzel Bellinger who averaged 18 ppg this season, as well as Corwin Spears (11 ppg), and D.J Wilson (12 ppg).  Good luck to both teams

5A Region II Playoff Schedule

Austin High (9-1-0)  vs  Leander (6-6-0)
After taking a close look at the stats for Austin High and Leander we found that this may be a much better game that we anticipated.  Austin High scored an average of 64 points per game and allowed 51.  If Leander can come out strong defensively they just may have a chance at pulling off an upset and taking out the district leader Austin high out in the first round.  All that said its the playoffs and anything can happen, good luck to both teams.

Akins (7-3-0)  vs  McNeil (6-6-0)
We would like to say that Akins will have the advantage in the match up however, McNeil has had a great season in a very strong district.  The advantage that the Eagles will have is its high scoring offense.  Akins has averaged 72 points per game this season while McNeil has only averaged 60. The Mavericks will have to find a lot more offense if they intend to stay in this game and their defense will have to make it hard on both Yoyo Moore and Malcolm Canada.

Bowie (6-4-0)  vs  Georgetown (7-5-0)
This may be the match up of the week in 5A Region II playoffs next week, with Bowie averaging 62 points per game and Georgetown 60 this should be a nail bitter.  Georgetown also has 6'5" senior forward Logan Webb, 6'5" junior Casey Heller, and 6'6" junior Joe Hauser that will be used to defend Bowie's 6'3" senior Connor Robinson.  Players like Paul Baxter, Jocab Varela and Mo Isom will need to show up in this game because I just don't see Robinson putting up big numbers against Georgetowns big three.  Good luck to both teams.

Anderson High (4-6-0)  vs  Pflugerville (12-0-0)
Anderson's first playoff in 5A and in this game they have nothing to lose.  No one expects them to do will against Pflugerville's high energy offense that has averaged 74 points per game this season and has held its opponents to 61.  Anderson comes in averaging 59 per game but defensively they just don't have anyone that can stop guard Deon Mitchell who is averaging 21 points this season along with 5 assist.  Anderson will need big games from their starting line up if they look to stay in this game, if Anderson can keep it close into the fourth they just may have a chance to an upset.  Good luck to both teams.  

Austin High vs Westlake

February 15, with the district title rapped up this game was just a formality for the Maroons.  With the playoffs just around the corner they wanted to make sure that no one was injured.  The Chaps did what they could in the game but were just over matched by an Austin High team that is playing at a different level now. 

With McClellan, Robbins, and Reinking playing on all cylinders the Maroons held the Westlake offense to only 41 points, while the Maroons big three scored 43 of the 71 point for the game.

The big game in this district was happening on the South Side between the Bowie Bulldogs and the Akins Eagles.  The winner taking second place and getting an easier start in the playoffs.  With this district all but rapped up there just waiting for the Williamson County 5A district to finish up.  The playoff will start next week and we look forward to a great run for the Austin High Maroons.

Austin High 71, Westlake 41

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Austin High	13	20	19	19	—	71
Westlake	8	10	13	10	—	41

AHS: McClellan 15, Wright 7, Robbins 17, Gonzales 6, Berg 3, Parks 2, Strake 8, Reinking 11, Klitch 2
WHS: Cummings 1, Deblasio 2, Morse 8, Arowan 7, Norton 3, Penn 3, Hyland 2, Hughes 2, Gray 3, Box 3, Wikelius 7
Records: AH: 27-3 (9-1).

Bowie vs Akins

February 15, the Akins Eagles finish district play with wins against district leader Austin High and tonight against the Bowie Bulldogs. 

Tonight's game was being televised on 1525 KBVO and was huge for both teams, the winner would represent the district as the second place team giving them an easier start in the first round of the playoffs. 

The Bulldogs started the game with Paul Baxter hitting a 3 and on the next positions Jacob Varela hits another 3 pointer, and it looked like the Bulldogs were going to be on tonight.  Unfortunately for the Bulldogs that was all the scoring for both Baxter and Varela until somewhere in the third quarter.

The first half was a defensive battle Yolanzo Moore had a tough assignment having to guard the explosive Bowie guard Paul Baxter but he was up to the challenge holding Baxter to only 3 points in the first half.  The other match up would be against Connor Robinson who scored 37 in the first meeting between these two teams.  The 6'3" guard Malcolm Canada (pictured) would be handed the assignment and did a good job early in the game.  However, he picked up his second foul in the first half and was replaced by 6'3" sophomore Lionel Hollins putting this underclassman in a difficult situation and in a very big game.

The third was a huge quarter for the Bulldogs, they began to work the ball inside to Robinson and found themselves with a two point lead 36 to 34 at the start of the fourth.  Bowie continued to work the ball inside, but the Eagles made some adjustments and began to double and triple team Robinson making it difficult for him to score.  At this point the Bulldogs shooters went cold and just could not buy a bucket.  So with Robinson being doubled down low and the Bulldogs peremiter shooting gone the Bulldogs just could not keep pace with the Eagles.  Malcolm Canada began to take over offensively in the fourth scoring three times down the court in what looked like replays of the previous shot.

The big surprise in this game was the offensive play of 5'9" guard Anthony Rivera who lead the Eagles scoring with 21 points.  Before this game Rivera was averaging a solid 12 points per game but with the defense focusing on Moore and Canada things opened up for Rivera and he came through. 

Good luck to both teams in the playoffs we wish them both well.

Akins 59, Bowie 49

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Akins	12	14	8	25	—	59
Bowie	10	12	14	13	—	49

AHS: Richardson 3, P.Rivera 4, Hollins 8, Moore 9, Canada 14, A.Rivera 21
BHS: Varela 3, O'Reilly 4, Isom 4, Jefferson 6, Baxter 7, Robinson 25
Records: B: 25-6 6-4, A: 23-9 7-3.

Anderson makes the playoffs

By Danny Davis
February 15, after watching classmates make the playoffs in football and girls basketball, the Anderson boys basketball players made sure to secure their moment in the spotlight.

John Gramlich hit four three-pointers and Javoris Stanton scored eight points off the bench to lift Anderson to a 53-49 victory over Del Valle on Tuesday, clinching Anderson's first trip to the Class 5A playoffs.  This school year has also seen the Trojans make their Class 5A postseason debuts in football and girls basketball. Anderson became a Class 5A school in 2004.

Each team scored only 17 points in the first half but Anderson built a six-point lead in the third quarter behind Stanton, who was put on the floor to give the Trojans more offense. The senior scored seven points in the third quarter.  As a team, Anderson recovered from an abysmal first half and scored 17 points in the third quarter. Gramlich gave Anderson a 34-28 lead when he hit an off-balance three-pointer, off an inbound pass at the buzzer.  "The first half, we had a lot of turnovers (10) and that took away some scoring opportunities," said Anderson coach Leal Anderson . Stanton "really sparked us in the third quarter ."

Del Valle, which could have forced a play-in game with Anderson for District 15-5A's final playoff spot with a victory, kept the game close. A three-pointer from Karim York narrowed the Trojans' lead to 51-49 with 11.5 seconds remaining.  After a Del Valle timeout, Gramlich was fouled and hit the first of two free throws to extend Anderson's lead . He missed the second free throw but was able to track down the offensive rebound and get the ball to I.J. Poole, who ran the clock down to 3.9 seconds before he was fouled. Poole hit one of two free throws to secure the victory.

"He finished with 19 points and Hayden Graham added 10 for Anderson. The Trojans will play Pflugerville, a former district rival, in next week's bidistrict playoffs.


AMERICAN-STATESMAN

St. Michael's Academy vs Antonian Prep

February 14, this might be the game of the week St. Michael's Academy defeats San Antonio's Antonian Prep for a second time this season grabbing second place in the 5A TAPPS division.  This game was an all out defensive battle with no team scoring more than St. Mike's 19 points in the first quarter.  With Antonian focussing their defensive efforts on senior guard Jake Kocher things opened up for both Austin Burch (20) who had his biggest scoring night of the season as well as Adam Whitlock (11). 

At the start of the preseason many felt that Antonio with two Major Division I recruits 6'8" 230 lb Jonathan Holmes (University of Texas) and 6'9" 229 lb Darrious Hamilton (Boise State) had all but secured the district title over all other district teams. In fact many predicted Antonia to be the 2010/2011 5A TAPPS State Champions.  Well in a game where height  means so much it didn't seem to help the Apaches much, height means nothing if you don't have your heart in it as well.  St. Michael's and Central Catholic both defeted Antonian twice this season showing that defense, team work, and heart can get you over a team that on paper may have the advantage.  

St. Michael's front court is really coming alive defensively but their going to need more from their post players if they want to move through the playoffs.  St. Mikes had a total of 25 rebounds in this game 19 of them from their front court players Adam Whitlock (8), Jake Kocher (5), Jaymes Maldonado (2), and Austin Burch (4).  At some point the low post players will need to step up and committ to rebounding if they want to give their front court a chance to get out in front and get more fast break points.

Good luck Crusaders on Saturday February 19 at 6:00 PM playing El Paso's Cathedral in the first round of the playoffs.

St. Michael's 65, Antonian Prep 62

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
St. Michael's	19	17	14	15	—	65
Antonian Prep	17	16	17	12	—	62

SM: Kocher 28, Burch 20, Whitlock 11, Cady 2, Maldonado 2, Guerrero 2
AP: J. Holmes 29, Bishop 10, S. Holmes 7, Kite 7, Hamilton 6, Cardenas 3
Records: SM: 21-15 (4-4).

Akins vs Austin High

February 11, this has to be the game of the week.  The Austin High Maroons came into this game 8 and 0 in district play and had already beaten the Akins Eagles back on January 25 by eight points.  So needless to say the Maroons came in extremely confident.  But! the Eagles had a little surprise waiting for the Maroons and it was called defense.  The Eagles defense held the Maroons to only 7 points in the first quarter and the Maroons found themselves down by 16 at the end of one and struggling to find out what was going on.  In the second quarter the Maroons picked it up defensively and at half time the Eagles went in with a 17 point lead and the Maroons were scratching their heads trying to find their offense.

At half time the Maroons must have gotten an ear full from Coach Dudney because they came out in the third quarter like a pack of wolves.  Their defense stuffed the Eagles offense allowing only 9 points and scoring 19 of their own.  At the start of the fourth quarter the Maroons had gotten within 7 points 47 to 40 and now the Eagles seemed to be the ones struggling to find some offense.  In the fourth the Maroons made up the 7 point deference and at the end of the quarter the game was tied at 55 and they were going to over time.

In over time it seemed as if the Maroons had just used up to much of their energy trying to get back in the game allowing the Eagles to pull off the upset 66 to 58 giving the Maroons their first loss in district play and taking away any chance at having an undefeated season.

Akins 66, Austin High 58

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Akins	23	15	9	8	11	66
Austin High	7	14	19	15	3	58

AHS: Ald 2, Richardson 3, Hollins 7, Moore 9, Canada 10, P. Rivera 12, A. Rivara 19
AHS: Robbins 3, Wright 4, Gonzales 7, Reinking 10, Strake 15, McClelland 19
Records: Ak: 22-9 (6-3), AH: (8-1).

St. Michael's Academy vs San Antonio's Central Catholic

February 10, St. Michael's came into this game excited and ready to play.  With two big wins against San Antonio's St Anthony and Holy Cross they were looking at getting a second chance the the district leading Buttons.  This one looked to be an exciting game and it did not disappoint, the two teams exchanged baskets through each of the first two quarters with Central Catholic leading by one point at half time.

The third quarter started just like the second ended with both defenses getting after each other and the offenses exchanging baskets, at the end of the third quarter Central Catholic lead by only 2.  This game looked like it was going to go down to the last shot and the fans of both teams were sitting on edge with each and ever position.  In the fourth the Crusaders began to struggle, the shooters went ice cold and they had several turn overs in the front court that lead to easy baskets for the Buttons.  They were 7 for 26 from three point range and also had 13 turnovers.  The Buttons went on a 19 to 8 run in the fourth quarter spoiling the Crusaders chance at pulling off an upset.

Central Catholic 69, St. Michael's 56

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
St. Michael's	20	15	13	8	—	56
Central Catholic	21	15	14	19	—	69

SM: Kocher 20, Burch 13, Whitlock 7, Maldonado 6, Cady 6, Nunez 4.
CC: Martinez 18, Franco 16, Fabac 2, Johnson 9, Betancourt 9, T. Berry 11, J. Berry 2.
Records: CC: 32-5 (7-0), SM: 20-15 (3-4).

Bowie vs Del Valle

February 11, the Bulldogs defense looks like its coming around just in time for the playoffs holding the Cards to only 7 points in the first quarter and not much more in the second, third and forth.  Guard Paul Baxter struggled offensively but was able to help get forward Connor Robinson (20) and wing Jacob Varela (12) involved in the game giving the bulldogs another very important win.

The Bulldogs are now 6 and 3 in district and if not for the unfortunate loss against Anderson earlier in the season they would be looking pretty good this season.  The big challenge will be next week when they play the Akins Eagles for a second time.  The Eagle are coming off a big win against district leader Austin High and will be looking at spoiling Bowie's chance at second place in  5A Region II District 15.

The Eagles are coming off a dramatic win over the Maroons and that win may be exactly what they needed to get them over the bulldogs on February 15.

Bowie 58, Del Valle 44

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Bowie	10	9	18	21	—	58
Del Valle	7	12	11	14	—	44

BHS: Necak 3, Baxter 7, Jefferson 2, Isom 6, Robinson 20, Varela 12, O'Reilly 8
DVHS: Berry 4, Owens 16, Bedford 2, Ju.Clark 5, Doyle 2, York 12, Fennell 3
Records: DV: 14-17 2-7, B: 25-5 6-3.

Pflugerville vs Round Rock

February 11, well chalk one more up for the Panthers who stay undefeated in district and will be the district 5A Region II champions.  With consistent play from their senior guard Deon Mitchell who averaged 21 points and 5 assist as well as senior Cameron Blue 10 points and 5 rebounds, Jordan Major and Storm Woods both averaging 6 points per game the Panthers have been able to run through district without much trouble. 

Junior Jamal Shabazz contributed 16 in this game and has also had a very consistent season averaging 12 points and 5 rebounds per game.  At 6' 5" and returning next year Shabazz will surely be a big part of the panthers game plan in 2011. 

Good luck Panthers and hope to see you at the Erwin Center soon.

Pflugerville 70, Round Rock 51

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Pflugerville	20	12	19	19	—	70
Round Rock	17	8	16	10	—	51

PHS: Mitchell 21, Shabazz 16, Williams 3, Major 8, Woods 4, Dempsey 8, Blue 10
RRHS: Deloach 10, Turner 9, Francois 9, Sparks 2, Washington 5, Guderyahn 6, Chambers 10
Records: RR: 15-19 (3-8), P: 26-4 (11-0).

Westwood vs Leander

February 11, by all accounts this should have been a good game between these two 5A Region II teams with the Lions having an edge over the Warriors.  The first quarter was the type of battle we expected and looked like it was setting the tone for a good game.  Leander lead by 2 points after one, but Westwood's offense woke up out of its daze and just ran over the Lions defense scoring 26 in the second quarter the Warriors went into to the locker room leading 39 to 32.

That second quarter burst must have been all the win less Warriors needed to keep them going into the second half.  The third and fourth quarters were a defensive battles between both teams in the end the Warriors were able to hold off the Lions giving them their first district win.

The Warriors had great games from guard Derek Nalodka scoring 20 points and guard Wade Swofford put in 16 of his own to help the Warriors pull of a great win.  The Lions had big offensive numbers from both McBride (21) and Nwakamma (19) but just couldn't do much defensively to hold off the Warriors putting them at 6 and 4 in district play.

Westwood 72, Leander 61

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Westwood	13	26	17	16	—	72
Leander	15	17	18	11	—	61

WHS: Swofford 14, Pearcy 5, Bishop 9, Femal 3, Holeman 8, Nalodka 20, Dettman 6, Daly 7
LHS: McGehee 3, Nwakamma 19, Eangle 8, Berry 2, Hauger 2, McBride 21, Biscoe 6

Bowie vs Westlake

Feruary 8, we said it once and we will say it again and hope the Bulldogs are listening.  If you want to get deep into the playoffs your going to need big gams from Isom and Varela.  Once again these two shooter come up big scoring 17 each in an easy win over last years district champs the Westlake Chaps. 

I'd be interested to see what Paul Baxters assist totals looked like with only 7 point of his own I have to assume that Isom and Varela were both on the recieving end of some really nice gifts from Baxter in this game. 

Keep it up Bulldogs hope to see you at the Erwin Center this year.

Bowie 65, Westlake 43

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Bowie	25	4	21	15	—	65
Westlake	5	10	9	19	—	43

BHS: Baxter 7, Isom 17, Lambert 5, Robinson 19, Varela 17
WHS: Cummings 5, DeBlasio 5, Morse 8, Rowan 1, Fisher 2, Hyland 1, Harris 2, Bux 6, Wikelius 6, Penn 7
Records: B: 24-5 (5-3), W: 12-17 (2-7).

Bastrop vs Hutto

February 8, this was a tough battle between to district leaders.  With both teams coming in at 6 and 3 this game was equally important for both the Bears and the Hippos the loser would go down one game to the winner making it that much harder to get into the playoffs.  In a district with Rudder and Hendrickson every win is important and this one may have been the most important of the season with Rudder still on the schedule for the Bears they needed to get this win.

Senior guard Josiah Monroe came ready to play last night scoring 22 points in the victory over the Hippos, guard Jordan Roach added 16 of his own and both Alton Thompson and John Thorne had 10.  If the Bears are able to get into the playoffs their going to need big games from Roach, Thompson, Thorne as well as senior Patrick Bryant if they want to move through the playoffs and make a run at a state title.

Hutto also has district leader Rudder on the schedule so if they are able to upset Rudder in their next meeting they may just have a chance at getting into the playoffs.  The Hippos has a great showing form senior Corwin Spears scoring 21 points in the loss.  Also having big games offensively were senior Denzel Bellinger with 14, brother Tevin Bellinger added 11 of his own but it just wasn't enough.

The first quarter really hurt the Hippos, the Bears played great defense holding the Hippos to only 14 points and they were just not able to get all 13 of those points back in the end.  It seemed like they just ran out of gas late in the fourth and were unable to get that one crucial defensive stop they needed to pull off a win.

Good luck to both teams we hope to see them both beat up on the outsider Rudder and hopefully they both get a chance to get into the playoffs.

Bastrop 69, Hutto 67

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Hutto	14	14	16	23	—	67
Bastrop	27	11	11	20	—	69

HHS: T. Bellinger 11, Lopez 2, D. Bellinger 14, Thompson 10, Spears 21, Wilson 5, Williams 2, Fielder 2
Bas: Roach 16, Thompson 10, Clemons 5, Monroe 22, Bryant 6, Thorne 10
Records: B: (7-3), H: (6-4).

Austin High vs Anderson

February 8, the Maroons keep on trucking with another big win against Anderson High.  Its good to see senior Adam Gonzales get into going scoring 17 point in this win.  The Maroons are going to need Gonzales if they expect to get through the playoffs. 

Eric McClellan has been pretty consistent for the Maroons throughout the season scoring in double figures but once they get into the playoff they will need players like Gonzales, Reinking, Robbins, and Wright to step it up offensively and have big games if they want to make a run at a state title.

Good luck Maroons hope to see you at the Erwin Center this year.  

Austin High 64, Anderson 46

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Austin High	13	20	16	15	—	64
Anderson	10	5	12	19	—	46

AHS: McClellan 16, Wright 9, Robbins 9, Gonzales 17, Parks 3, Strake 6, Reinking 4
AHS: Stanton 10, Balleu 5, Poole 6, Kiely 2, Wilson 1, Gramlich 8, Bach 4, Graham 10
Records: A: 2-6, AH: 26-2 8-0.

Del Valle vs Akins

February 8, basketball fans lets talk upset of the week.  This is not what Akins needed this far into district, this loss may have just done it for the Eagles and their chance of making the playoffs.  With Bowie and Austin high still on the schedule the Eagles will have to work hard to get passed this one and get ready for the next two scheduled games.  They will need to pull off a win in one of the next two games to help them get into the first round of the playoffs.

We said it a few weeks ago, Del Valle looked like one of those teams that just needed to work on a few things and they could be the party crasher.  Unfortunately for the Eagles they were the victims.  It was good to see Del Valle's Karim York finally play as big as his 6'8" frame scoring 31 points against the Eagles.  Akins just didn't have an answer for York and he was able to use his size dominating Akins's defensive players, helping York out with the scoring was Terrell Owens putting in 16 of his own to help push the Cardinals over the Eagles.  

Del Valle 75, Akins 66

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Akins	17	16	18	15	—	66
Del Valle	19	27	12	17	—	75

AHS: Hollins 2, A.Rivera 7, Richardson 7, Moore 14, P.Rivera 17, Canada 19
DVHS: J.Clark 3, Berry 3, Neal 4, Ju.Clark 7, Fennell 9, Owens 16, York 31
Records: DV: 2-6, A: 21-9 5-3.

Bowie vs Anderson High

February 7, the Bowie Bulldogs take down Anderson High 62 to 44.  Anderson was never really in this game, the Bulldogs outscored Anderson in each of the first three quarters and with the game in hand pulled back a little in the fourth making it a closer game than it really was.

Bowie's long range shooters finally come through with Jake Varela scoring 14 and Mareik Isom 13.  Bowie will need to have these two guys continue to contribute these types of numbers if they want to move through the playoffs.  PG Paul Baxter and F Connor Robinson need to make an effort to get these two shooters involved in the game if they want to make a run at a state championship.  Getting them 10 to 12 shot opportunities per game forces the defense to get out and guard them opening up lanes for Baxter and forcing teams to guard Robinson one on one in the low post.

I really don't see the Bulldogs getting passed Bi district without a contribution from both Isom and Varela.  On a good day these two are two of the best shooters in the area, on a great day they are the best in the area.  But the big two Baxter and Robinson need to make an effort to get them involved.

The best way to keep a shooter from hurting you is keep the ball out of his hands, that can be done with great defense or offensive players forcing shots and not making that extra pass allowing them a chance to shoot.

Good luck Bulldogs hope to see you playing far into the playoffs.

Bowie 62, Anderson 44

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Anderson	13	7	11	13	—	44
Bowie	20	16	17	9	—	62

AHS: Stanton 2, Ballee 6, Clark 6, N. Bach 6, Poole 5, Wilson 1, Gramlich 6, R. Bach 7, Graham 5
BHS: Baxter 15, Jefferson 1, Isom 13, Robinson 12, Varela 14, O'Reilly 3, Clark 2, Nunnery 2
Records: Bowie: 23-5, 4-3; Anderson: 17-11, 2-5

St. Michael's Academy vs San Antonio Holy Cross

February 5, St. Michael's Academy crushes San Antonio's Holy Cross 17 days after Holy Cross upset St. Mikes by 5 points in San Antonio.  Holy Cross was never in this one, with SMCA scoring 30 points in the first quarter and completely dominating HC they simply ran away with this one. Coach Smith has his front court of Jaymes Maldonado, Austin Burch and Jake Kocher really getting it done on defense, and just in time with playoffs around the corner.

For a second consecutive game forward Adam Whitlock takes charge of the boards pulling down 10 and making his presence known under the basket, along with 10 rebounds Whitlock added 6 assist.  Also helping out with rebounding duties were point guard Jaymes Maldonado (5) and Jake Kocher (8).

With this win SMCA reaches the 20 win mark for the season a feat not many Central Texas teams including public schools will be able to match.  Along the way they've beaten teams like Stony Point HS (5A), Vista Ridge (4A), Pflugerville Connally (4A), San Antonio Lee (5A), Vandegrift (4A), Corpus Christi King (5A), and Halletsville 2010 2A Region IV Champion with a record of 36 and 1.  Wow! what a line up, you won't see many Texas public schools scheduling games against this type of competition and winning 20 games much less a small private school.  But here you are St. Michael's we hope to see you playing far into the playoffs, good luck and keep up the intensity.  

St. Michael's 85, Holy Cross 61

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
St. Michael's	30	14	21	20	—	85
Holy Cross	12	13	21	15	—	61

SM: Kocher 43, Burch 13, Maldonado 12, Stanka 4, Whitlock 4, Wurzel 4, Cady 3, Allen 2.
HC: Hernandez 23, Musquiz 8, Cruz 8, Libby 6, Trevino 5, Delgado 2, Botello 2, Amador 3.
Records: SM: 20-14 (3-3).

Austin High vs Bowie

February 1, another disappointing loss for the Bowie Bulldogs against rival Austin High.  The Maroons came out and made a statement defensively in the first quarter holding the Bulldogs to only 5 points and that was the difference at the end of the game.  The Bulldogs didn't give up coming back in the second holding the Maroons to only 8 but this looked to be a defensive battle between both teams.

If Bowie looked to win they were going to need a big game from both guard Paul Baxter and forward Connor Robinson, unfortunately for Bowie Baxter and Robinson struggled offensively and no one stepped up to make up the deference.  Baxter finished the game with only 8 points and Robinson 14 no one else was even close to double figures and with Baxter and Robinson struggling some one else needed to have a big game.  Defensively Bowie did a great job holding Austin High's Eric McClellan and Chance Robbins to only 13 points in the game but with this loss and an unfortunate loss against Anderson it puts them at 3 and 3 in district play one game behind Akins.

Austin High 45, Bowie 40

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Austin High	10	8	13	14	—	45
Bowie	5	15	8	12	—	40

AHS: McClellan 13, Wright 2, Robbins 13, Gonzales 4, Strake 7, Reinking 6
BHS: Necak 6, Baxter 8, Isom 6, Robinson 14, Varela 6
Records: B: 3-3, AH: 24-2 6-0.

Pflugerville vs McNeil

February 1, Pflugerville stays undefeated in district by outscoring McNeil by 12.  Pflugerville continues its domination in district play with guards Deon Mitchell (14), Darrian Dempsey (18) and Storm Woods (14) all scoring in double figures in this game. 

I really enjoy watching a player like Deon Mitchell go out there and use his abilities to help make his teammates better on the court.  Mitchell is arguably the best point guard in the Austin area and could probably go out and average 30 + points a game but he doesn't.  This kids probably doesn't even know how many points he's scored until after the game is over.  He doesn't go out trying to keep he's scoring average up he goes out and does what he has to do to help his team win, and if that means using his ability to get in the lane and passing the ball to the open shooter in the corner then thats what he's going to do.  Good luck Deon we wish you much success at the college level and good luck Pflugerville we hope to see you going far into the playoffs this season.

Pflugerville 71, McNeil 59

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
McNeil	13	16	13	17	—	59
Pflugerville	15	15	23	18	—	71

MHS: Williams 21, Waters 8, Jiongo 4, Worrell 9, Jo. Jones 6, Je. Jones 5, Pepper 6
PHS: Mitchell 14, Shabazz 7, Williams 2, Major 2, Woods 14, Dempsey 18, Blue 14
Records: M: 16-11 (4-5), P: 21-4 (8-0).

Bastrop vs Connally

February 1, Bastrop pulls off a win against Connally High.  We had a lot of hope this season for Bastrop with 7 returning seniors including guards Jordan Roach, and Josiah Monroe they looked ready a very able to make a run at the district title this year.  But things just have not gone their way, they had a good run during non district play but have struggled putting together any real offense in district.  In the game against Connally a team that has been struggling defensively Bastrop was only able to put up 49 points.  If not for the great defensive effort of the first quarter where they held Connally to only 2 points they may have been looking at their 8th loss in district play.  

Bastrop 49, Connally 43

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Bastrop	11	14	11	13	—	49
Connally	2	16	9	16	—	43

Bas: Moore 18, Raemsch 12, Jackson 8, McWhorter 6, Marquez 2, Seitz 2, Cavazos 1
CHS: Babola 14, Hardin 12, Tucker 12, Wells 3, Shead 2
Records: C: 17-15 5-5, B: 13-14 3-7.

Akins vs Anderson

February 1, we are still trying to figure out if the loss to Bowie may have taken the wind out of Akins sails.  The game against Anderson High should have been one of those games Akins just plays because its on the schedule. Maybe that was the reason that Anderson made this such a close game and had a chance in the fourth to win.  Akins needs to believe they are one of the elite teams in this district but even with that in mind they can't be looking past any opponents in this district.

The minds of Akins players may have still been on the loss to Bowie or maybe they went into this game looking past Anderson either way they almost put themselves in a difficult position. They allowed 5 Anderson players  Justin Clark (10), I.J Poole (12), John Gramlich (14), Alex Frame (14), Hayden Graham (18) to score in double figures giving them a chance to pull off an upset.  Akins's Yolonzo Moore scored 36 but both teams struggled on defense making it a high scoring game. Akins will have to do a much better job defensively in the second half of district play if they want to be up there come the end of the season.

Akins 77, Anderson 75

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Akins	20	15	12	18	12	77
Anderson	18	19	13	15	10	75

AHS: Canada 18, Hollins 4, P.J. Rivera 7, Moore 36, Richardson 2, A. Rivera 11
AHS: Clark 10, Cunningham 2, Poole 12, Kiely 2, Wilson 3, Gramlich 14, Frane 14, Graham 18

Stony Point vs Georgetown

February 1, Stony Point pushes its way through Georgetown in the fourth quarter to pull off a win.  At the start of the fourth quarter Georgetown had a comfortable 41 to 33 lead and had dominated both the second and third quarters only allowing SP 21 point between the two quarters.  Going into the fourth things didn't look good for SP their defense was struggling and offensively they just were not putting things together. 

With all that said it didn't deter SP from coming out with the best effort of the night holding Georgetown to only 14 points and scoring 23 of their own.  We also have to recognize the defensive effort SP put together in the first holding Georgetown to only 2 points the lowest out put this season by any team.  Offensively SP's Joel Devastey had a good effort scoring 14 points and helping his team pull off this win.  The High score for the night was Georgetown's Sr Logan Webb who scored 25 points in a losing effort.

Stony Point 56, Georgetown 55

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Georgetown	2	19	20	14	—	55
Stony Point	12	8	13	23	—	56

GHS: Webb 25, Kerr 7, Van Dusen 2, Hardge 15, Vick 4, Davenport 2
SPHS: Garafoli 10, Dramberger 7, Calis 3, Spaid 2, Richardson 6, Williams 4, Devastey 14, Woodson 8

Westlake vs Del Valle

February 1, Westlake Chaps shock the Del Valle Cards 62 to 49.  Westlake came into this game with a 1 and 4 record in district a far cry from last year season where the Chaps won the district title.  But that did not deter the Chaps from coming out and putting an old fashion whipping on the Cards.  We can give this win to the Westlake defense they held the Cards to only 7 points in the first and third quarters making it difficult for the Cards to stage a come back in the fourth.  The Card did all they could do in the fourth quarter scoring 21 points but down 41 to 24 at the start was just to much and they ran out of gas and time.  The Cards fall to 1 and 5 in district putting them at the bottom of a very strong 5A district with Austin High, Akins and Bowie at the top.  Westlake had a great effort from Jr guard RJ Rowan who finished the game with 17 points both Jonathan Hargis and Drew Wikelius dropped in 10 of their own to help push the Chaps passed the Cards.

Westlake 62, Del Valle 49

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Del Valle	7	10	7	25	—	49
Westlake	16	9	16	21	—	62

DVHS: York 18, Owens 12, Berry 6, McElven 5, Fennell 4, Clark 2, Neal 2
WHS: Rowland 17, Hargis 10, Wikelius 10, Morse 9, Fisher 6, Hyland 5, Box 2, Elliot 2, Martin 1
Records: W: 12-14 (2-4), DV: 13-15 (1-5).