01/15/2005
By: JASON CHLAPEK

Plano 57, Flower Mound 36
Plano blew a close game wide-open in the second half with suffocating defense and efficient offense as it handled Flower Mound 57-36 Friday at Flower Mound.

The Wildcats (17-4, 4-1) will try to use this win to build confidence for their match-up against Plano East at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Plano Activity Center.

Flower Mound kept Plano at bay in the first period, outscoring the Wildcats 14-12. Plano picked up the pace in the second period as it outscored the Jaguars 18-12 to take a 30-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Flower Mound slowed things down a bit, holding Plano to 9 points in the third period. But the Wildcats held the Jaguars to 4 in the eight-minute span, and led 39-30 heading into the final period. Flower Mound couldn't hit the broadside of a barn in the fourth period as it only managed 6 points. Plano racked up 18 to pick up the 21-point win.

Eric Zastoupil led Plano with 18 points, and Mark Foster had 10. Flower Mound was led by Shawn Schepel's 19.

Plano East 51, Colony 43
With a 4-0 record in District 8-5A play, the Plano East boys basketball team has a big bulls-eye on its chest.

But the Panthers carried on with their business, and held off The Colony 51-43 Friday at The Colony. Plano East (19-4, 5-0) remained unbeaten in district play, and will try to carry its momentum into its match-up at Plano at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Colony, meanwhile, fell into a four-way tie for fifth with its Lewisville ISD counterparts, Flower Mound, FM Marcus and Lewisville. All four teams have a 1-4 district mark.

The Panthers took off in the first period, outscoring the Cougars 19-12 in the game's first eight minutes. Plano East won the second period 14-11, and led 33-23 at the half.

The Colony became more defensive-minded in the third period by slowing down the Panthers attack. The Cougars outscored the Panthers 9-7 in the third, and trailed 40-32 heading into the fourth period.

The Colony scored 11 points in the final stanza, but Plano East matched the Cougars with 11 in the period as well.

The usual suspects, Dallas Hunter, Anthony Smith and Cameron Meek, led the Panthers. Hunter scored a game-high 17, while Smith and Meek each had 11.

The Colony was led by Demarcus Britt, who scored 14 points.

Plano West 57, Lewisville 54
The Plano West-Lewisville boys basketball game can be likened to the Lenny Kravitz song, "It ain't over til it's over."

The Wolves led by 17 points in the fourth period before the Farmers crawled to within three points and missed the game-tying 3-pointer which would've sent the game into overtime as the Wolves escaped with a 57-54 win Friday at the Wolves' Den.

"We escaped tonight. The game's never over until the clock reads zero," Coach David Piehler said. "We have to learn how to play with a big lead. Of course, playing with a big lead isn't something that can be stimulated in practice."

Plano West (11-11, 3-2) will savor the victory as it prepares for its match-up with Allen (19-6, 4-1) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Wolves' Den. Allen beat Marcus 69-64 Friday. A win over the Eagles could possibly create a three-way tie for second place between Allen, Plano and Plano West if Plano loses to Plano East as well.

The first period looked like the game was going to become another shoot-out as both teams combined for 40 points. Lewisville led 21-19 at period's end behind 6 points from Chris Johnson.

The Wolves' defense came to life in the second period as they held the Farmers scoreless for the first six minutes of the period. During that time, Plano West had seized a 28-21 lead behind 5 points from H.E. Neely, and 4 from Jerrald Bonham. Lewisville finally scored with 1:52 left in the period when Booker Woodfox hit a jumper. Woodfox hit another shot, and teammate Isaac Wilridge scored 4 points in the last two minutes as well to pull the Farmers within four, 33-29, at the half.

Plano West continued to stymie Lewisville defensively in the third period as the Farmers were once again held to 8 points in a period. Michael Prince and Tom Heinemann led the Wolves on a 13-5 run with 6 and 5 points, respectively. The scoring spurt ended the third period for the Wolves, who led 50-37 heading into the final period.

Prince scored the first 4 points of the fourth on a pair of fastbreak dunks to give Plano West a 54-37 lead with more than six minutes to play. Then the tide turned in favor of the Farmers as they reeled off 15 straight points in five minutes to cut the lead to two, 54-52, with 1:14 left in the contest. Woodfox scored 6 during the spurt, while Brandon Griffin had 5.

Prince scored his last points on a lay-up to put the Wolves up four, 56-52, before Griffin hit a jumper in the paint with 24 seconds left to make it a two-point contest once again. Heinemann hit the front end of a 1-and-1 before missing the back end. Woodfox grabbed the rebound and dribbles to mid-court before calling the Farmers' last timeout with 5.4 tics remaining.

Sheldon Brown got off a 3-point attempt which hit the front of the rim, and landed into the arms of Stephen Harrison to seal the Plano West win.

Prince led Plano West with 22 points and seven rebounds. Neely led with 10 assists and scored 10 points for his first double-double of the season. Lewisville was led by Woodfox, who had 18 points.