Top-ranked team edges North Mesquite, will play Plano for title

12:25 AM CST on Wednesday, December 29, 2004
By BOB THOMPSON / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

PLANO – Cedar Hill keeps finding ways to win, but those wins are getting harder to come by, as the state's top-ranked team found out in Tuesday's semifinals of the Plano Wildcat Holiday Classic.

Cedar Hill, ranked No. 1 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 5A poll, struggled offensively but managed to hold off North Mesquite, 40-37, at Plano Senior High.

Cedar Hill will meet Plano at 7 p.m. today for the championship of the 12th annual tournament.

If you ask Cedar Hill coach David Milson, his team's No. 1 ranking is as undeserved as it is unwelcome.

"I wish [the TABC] hadn't put us there because now we've got a big ol' target on our back," Milson said. "I know one thing, we're way overrated right now."

Cedar Hill (16-1) led, 27-17, at halftime, but scored only 13 points in the second half. With North Mesquite threatening to overtake Cedar Hill in the waning seconds, senior guard Claude Toliver hit two free throws to put his team ahead by three points.

North Mesquite's David Heard had a chance to send the game into overtime, but his 3-pointer in the final seconds sailed off the back iron.

"Good teams find a way to win games even when they don't play their best," Toliver said. "We're not where we want to be yet as a team, but we're going to keep playing hard and working at it until it all comes together for us."

Vance's big plays give Plano a lift

With his team clinging to a slim lead against South Grand Prairie in the other semifinal, Plano forward Travis Vance provided a spark with several big plays during a pivotal stretch in the second half.

First, the 6-4 senior scored on nifty spin move while driving to the basket late in the third quarter. He followed that with a timely conventional 3-point play on the next possession to give his team some much needed separation, as Plano pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 65-56 victory. Vance finished with 16 points.

"I think sometimes other teams not only underestimate him, they don't estimate him at all," Plano coach Tom Inman said. "He's a finisher."