January 30, 2007

By DAMON L. SAYLES / The Dallas Morning News

PLANO - If Plano ever needed a win to boost its confidence, Tuesday was the night.

Plano, which lost back-to-back District 9-5A games last week, used a strong fourth quarter to earn a 73-52 victory against district frontrunner Richardson Berkner in a battle of top-10 SportsDay 5A area teams.

Plano, ranked No. 10 in the area, outscored No. 8 Berkner, 21-8, in the fourth.

"We guarded with more of a sense of urgency," Plano coach Tom Inman said. "We looked more like a typical Plano defense. I thought we rebounded as well as we have all season."

Plano (20-7, 6-4) used its 1-3-1 defense to control the tempo early. It outrebounded Berkner, 21-12, in the first half. Adam Chisholm had seven of his game-high 12 rebounds in the first half.

Plano led by 11 at the five-minute mark in the second quarter and went into the locker room with a 35-26 halftime lead. It held off a small Berkner run in the third and pulled away in the fourth with strong defense and driving baskets.

"We've been struggling a little, and we've been struggling late. Because of that, this was really big for us," Inman said.

Reggie Britton scored 19 points, and Chisholm and Texas Tech signee John Roberson had 16 for Plano, which avenged a 69-61 overtime loss to Berkner on Jan. 5. Landon Skinner added 12 points.

Berkner (17-8, 8-2), despite the loss, remained on top of the 9-5A standings, one game ahead of Plano East and two ahead of Plano and Lake Highlands. Xavier Perkins led Berkner with 14 points and nine rebounds, and Maxx Nakwaash added 13 points.