01/03/2005
By: Brian Porter

PLANO - The boisterous Hawaiian shirt Tom Inman quickly exchanged for his dress attire Wednesday made its impression, but the Plano Wildcats may have beaten their coach to a statement.

That tends to happen upon defeating the No. 1-ranked team in the state, as Plano did in a 47-38 win over Cedar Hill to claim its first Wildcat Holiday Classic championship since 2001.

"We came out hard defensively," forward Joseph Fulce said. "We boxed out everybody."

And Cedar Hill, a team with two Division I signees and one of the top freshmen in the nation, never found their rhythm.

The team finished the championship game converting just 1-of-16 attempts from the perimeter. Plano converted 3-of-3 shots from beyond the three-point stripe.

"If they were going to beat us, they were going to have to do it from outside," Fulce said, "and they weren't knocking shots down."

The lone conversion from the perimeter was a desperation shot at the halftime buzzer. Plano expanded a 19-16 halftime advantage into a 35-24 lead at the end of the third period with a 16-8 run after halftime. The team then converted 10-of-15 free-throw attempts.

Plano (14-3) is closely resembling the successful 2001-02 team that last gave the Wildcats a championship in the Classic. That team finished with a 26-8 record, the best in five seasons under Inman.

Plano would need to go 12-1 to finish district play in order to match that record in the regular season. The 2001-02 team recorded one playoff win.

"That was a real good team," Inman said. "I don't necessarily think winning (the Classic) means we're the same team. I do feel good about it. It does have to give us some kind of momentum going into district."