12/31/2005
By BRIAN PORTER, Staff writer

PLANO - An offensive slugfest between a hot-shooting guard and a tough-as-nails post made for an entertaining Wildcat Holiday Classic championship game which ultimately came down to defense.

Mesquite allowed just two field goals in the fourth period to defeat Plano, 59-52, in front of a near capacity crowd at the Plano Activity Center gymnasium.

"Mesquite is one of the best defensive teams in the state of Texas," Plano coach Tom Inman said. "With Gary Taylor, there you have what may be the best coach in the state, bar none."

Plano, which advanced to a championship game in the Classic for the third-straight year and to the championship final for consecutive seasons, had its moments of brilliance, but never drew closer than four points in the fourth period.

Mesquite had lost three straight games entering the tournament, including one to the team it bested in a semifinal, to win the school's first Classic championship to Taylor's recollection.

"We've come over here to this tournament for so long," Taylor said. "We've now won two tournament championships. There's only one other team in the history of our program to win two tournament championships in a year."

A pair of all-tournament players gave their opposition fits, especially in the first half. Mesquite's Ricky Burney scored a game-high 22 points, with 11 coming as Mesquite went up 13-8 in the first period.

Plano's Eric Zastoupil countered with a team-high 19 points. He matched Burney with 14 points in the first half.

"We came in here off the loss to Plano West and we were down a little," Inman said. "I thought we came back and did a great job.

"I'd give up the next 10 championship trophies in this tournament for one district win."

Plano held tournament MVP Lazarick Jones to seven points and Plano's other all-tournament selection, John Roberson, totaled 11 points.

Mesquite's defense ultimately took charge. Plano had a series of six possessions in the second period which produced five turnovers and resulted in a 6-0 Mesquite run and Plano never again led in the game.

Plano trimmed down its mistakes in the second half, but repeated its struggles to score from the floor.

"This is a game that favors mistakes," Inman said. "The winner will make the fewest mistakes."

That's exactly what Mesquite did. It put Plano in a one-shot bonus with more than a minute left in the first period. The Wildcats produced a 6-of-7 performance from the line in the remainder of the first half and trailed 32-30 at halftime.

Plano trimmed the margin to 52-48 with 2:57 remaining in the fourth period. Two successive turnovers resulted in a 5-0 Mesquite run and Plano was never able to recover.

Mesquite's success stemmed from speed at the guard position which Taylor believes is sometimes overlooked.

"We felt it was important to get back to doing the things we do well," Taylor said. "Obviously, one of those is defensive intensity. Our guards have good hands and good court sense. They really work well together."