PLANO 52, ARL. BOWIE 44

01:38 AM CST on Wednesday, February 23, 2005
By C. ANTHONY MOSSER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

SOUTHLAKE – Clutch free throw shooting lifted Plano to a 52-44 victory over Arlington Bowie in the bi-district round of the Class 5A playoffs Tuesday.

Plano (23-8) connected on 17-of-21 free throws, including 13-of-14 in the fourth quarter. Bowie (23-10) was just 7-of-18 from the line, including four misses late in the game.

The final eight-point margin was Plano's largest lead of the game.

With the victory, Plano advances to play Irving in the area round. The game will be played Friday. The site and time have not been determined.

"The thing we did was close the game out well," said Plano coach Tom Inman, whose team's final eight points came on free throws. Four were by Ryan Manack, two by Brandon Ware and two by Joseph Fulce, who led all scorers with 19 points.

The pinpoint free throw shooting down the stretch allowed Plano to break open what had been a seesaw game. Plano took the lead for good with 1:19 left, when Manack rebounded his own missed shot and scored inside to make it 44-42.

Fulce, who also had 14 rebounds and five blocked shots, was a force throughout for Plano. He scored 13 points in the second half, and helped Plano gain a 33-29 lead with 2:06 left in the third quarter. But Bowie finished the third quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 35-33 lead.

"People will look at that final score and they might think we spanked them," Inman said. "We didn't spank them. It was a great game. They're quick and physical, and really made it hard to get the ball inside."

Fulce was the only Plano player to score in double figures. Ware scored nine points, and came up with a key steal that led to his two free throws that gave Plano a 50-44 lead with 33.1 seconds left.

Eric Zastoupil scored eight points, including two fourth-quarter free throws when he was called on to replace Greg Boyer, who was shaken up after hitting the floor hard as the result of a collision.

Matt Miller led Bowie with 15 points.