12/28/2005
By BRIAN PORTER, Staff writer

PLANO - John Roberson stole an inbounds pass with 1.1 seconds remaining Wednesday and Plano outlasted North Mesquite, 56-53, in a second-round game in the Wildcat Holiday Classic.

Plano (9-6, 0-1), the only team in the tournament which has enjoyed a state ranking this season, had moments of brilliance mixed with times of inability to create offense.

"Overall, I'm happy. A win is a win," Plano coach Tom Inman said. "We got ahead early and probably got a little content."

North Mesquite shocked Plano in an opening-round game two seasons ago in the tournament and was working toward doing so again.

Roberson and Army signee Eric Zastoupil combined for 12 of 14 points in the fourth period and it was enough to hold off North Mesquite.

Plano led, 54-44, with 2:48 remaining in the game and seemed positioned to put the victory away. A pair of turnovers and the inability to defend the perimeter resulted in a 9-2 North Mesquite run.

North Mesquite sent in a desperation pass to halfcourt and Roberson stepped in front of the intended target to seal the win.

Plano will meet Denton Ryan at 6:30 p.m. today in a tournament semifinal. The Wildcats are guaranteed to at least be playing for a third-place tournament trophy.

"We're playing in the semifinals and you can't complain about that," Inman said.

North Mesquite committed eight straight turnovers in the first period after going up 6-2 on Plano. The Wildcats turned it into a 13-0 run and a 15-6 advantage. North Mesquite tied the game on two occasions to open the third period and led, 36-35, with 2:08 remaining in the third period.

"We're not consistently putting people asleep when we need to," Inman said.

Plano, the defending tournament champions, have never won consecutive Classic championships under Inman. "That would be nice," Inman said.

Roberson scored a game-high 19 points, with 12 coming in the second half. Zastoupil scored nine of his 15 in the second half and the first seven points of the fourth period.

Freshman Rex Burkhead came off the bench in the first period to record two points, two steals and a rebound. Defending tournament MVP Joseph Fulce, a Texas A&M signee, was dressed in plain clothes on the bench as he heals from knee surgery.