02/15/2006
By JASON CHLAPEK, Staff writer

PLANO - Although it had the District 8-5A championship wrapped up, the Plano boys basketball still felt it had something to play for Tuesday.

The Wildcats hit 10-of-14 free throws in the fourth period to turn a two-point game into a 13-pouint victory as they beat Plano East, 69-56, at the Plano Activity Center gymnasium.

Following the win, Plano coaches and players cut down the net at the north goal to celebrate their 8-5A crown.

"I love this. I'll never get tired of cutting down nets," Plano coach Tom Inman said. "This is a testament of what we worked for this season. I'm proud of my guys."

Plano (22-8, 12-2 in 8-5A) receives a bye in the bi-district round of the Class 5A state playoffs. The Wildcats play either the runner-up of District 5 or the third-place team out of District 6.

Plano East (19-9, 8-6) awaits its playoff fate. The Panthers fell into a three-way tie for third place with Lewisville (20-11, 8-6) and Plano West (19-11, 8-6) and will meet with officials from those schools at 9:30 a.m. today at The Colony to discuss tiebreaker details.

"We had our opportunities (Tuesday)," Plano East coach Doug Bleadorn said. "We just didn't make our shots when we had to and we missed too many free throws."

Plano held on to a 44-42 lead heading into the final period before putting the game away on a 25-14 run in the final eight minutes. John Roberson scored nine of his game-high 27 points in the period. He was 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the fourth and also scored 11 in the third.

Both teams struggled during the first three minutes of the game as Kola Alade's three-pointer with less than five minutes left in the first period was the first field goal of the contest and gave Plano East a 5-1 advantage. Plano answered with nine straight points, including five from Roberson, to take a 10-5 lead.

The Wildcats led 12-9 entering the second period and opened a 26-16 lead behind 10 points from Joseph Fulce. But the Panthers closed out the second period on a 10-2 run behind three-pointers from Alade, Anthony Hill and John West to pull within two, 28-26, at the half.

The third period was practically a scoring duel between Hill and Roberson. While Hill outscored Roberson, 15-11, in the period, Roberson's team led 44-42 heading into the fourth.

Fulce and Eric Zastoupil also contributed for Plano with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Kevin Smith led Plano East with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Hill and Alade scored 15 and 12 points for the Panthers, respectively.