Tuesday, January 23, 2007
By Kevin Hageland, Staff Writer / Plano Star

PLANO - Most people probably know that gambling on high school sports is illegal. But if it weren’t, Allen head coach Jeff Higgins said that people trying to gamble on the outcomes of games in District 9-5A would lose a lot of money.

Evidence of that was on display Tuesday night as Allen (4-4) upset Plano (5-3), 71-68, to keep its playoffs hopes very-much alive.

“I don’t know what it is, but we have always matched up well with Plano,” Higgins said.

After giving up the first basket of the game, Allen took control. Jeff Campbell gave the team its first lead of the game after draining a three-pointer with 5:24 left in the first quarter. That put the Eagles up 5-2, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish until the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats cut that lead to 7-6 when senior Landon Skinner made a circus lay-in with 2:51 remaining in the first. However, the Eagles came back down the court and rebuilt a four-point advantage after a three by Darius Bolling.

Allen kept its slim lead throughout the quarter by burying a bevy of perimeter shots. But Plano inched back to within two points when junior Kenny Watkins passed the ball to senior Raahul Ramakrishnan for an uncontested bucket.

After that basket though, the Wildcats would go cold and the Eagles went on a 7-0 run to open the game up. CJ Ogbuehi got the scoring started for Allen in the second quarter by making a hook shot, as the Eagles built a 19-10 lead.

Looking to quickly get his team back in the game, Plano senior John Roberson drove the ball to the other side of the court and popped in a three-pointer with 6:21 to go in the half.

That would be the first of five consecutive threes made by the two teams, as Roberson, Campbell and Allen’s Kris Moore were all able to bury shots from beyond the arc.

Right after that run of trifectas, Plano was able to score eight straight points to get back within one. The finish to that run came when Plano senior Greg Harrell stole the ball and passed it to Roberson, who hit the three.

Allen’s Eric Braun made a lay-in with 2:25 left in the second quarter to put the Eagles back up, 27-24, and break the Wildcats’ scoring streak.

The Allen defense continued to force Plano to spread out their offense in the second quarter. With the Wildcats unable to consistently get the ball inside, the Eagles took a 30-28 advantage into the locker room.

“I have been seeing more maturity from this team as of late,” Higgins said. “We have had fewer and fewer mental lapses and that has given us a big advantage.”

That mental advantage turned into a tangible lead as the Eagles went up by eight points early in the third quarter as Allen began to take control on the boards. Allen’s Ogbuehi and Plano junior Reggie Britton each went for a rebound after a missed shot and managed to tip the ball in the hoop for an Eagles’ basket.

On the very next Allen play, the Eagles grabbed two offense rebounds before Eric Braun put the ball in to secure the eight-point lead.

That lead would grow to nine points in the waning seconds of the third quarter, but Plano sophomore Rex Burkhead took the ball down the court and made a three as time expired to cut the Wildcats deficit to 46-40.

Before the start of the fourth, Plano head coach Tom Inman tried to get his kids fired up by saying,” If we are as good as we think we are, we need to show it right now.”

And the Wildcats did just that to start the final quarter.

Skinner, who had a game-high 27 points, cut through the lane for an easy basket to start the fourth. On the very next possession, Roberson took a charge to give Plano the ball right back. The Wildcats would score the first six points of the quarter to tie the game.

Plano would later take the lead after Roberson, who had 16 points, grabbed a board and threw an outlet pass to Skinner for a lay-in and foul with 4:10 remaining in the game. Skinner made the free throw to put the Wildcats up, 50-49. That was Plano’s first lead since the team was up 2-0.

However, Allen quickly shifted the momentum back to its favor.

Braun hit a jumper from the free throw line exactly halfway through the quarter to put the Eagles back up by one point. That would be the start of a 9-0 run by Allen.

“There were just so many bang-bang plays during that run; things got out of control very quickly,” Inman said. “I’m not mad at the way our guys played tonight, just disappointed that we lost.”

Although Plano was able to stay within striking distance throughout the remainder of the contest, the Wildcats were never able to get closer than three after that point. A steal by Campbell with 38 seconds left secured the much-needed victory for Allen.

The Eagles had four players in double figures, as Campbell, Ogbuehi, Braun and Ryan Shrum all had at least 12 points in the win.

“I think the balance our team has on offense puts a real strain on our opponent’s defense; and we thrive on that,” Higgins said. “We are going to enjoy this victory; continue to have great practices, and hopefully we will keep on winning.”

In addition to a lack of rebounding at key points in the game, poor free throw shooting hurt the Wildcats. Plano made just 13-of-25 from the charity stripe in the loss.

“That type of free throw shooting just isn’t good enough,” Inman said. “This was a tough loss, but I know our kids have confidence and that should help us get through this.”