Keller coach Randall Durant said his 6-3 senior guard Kenny Ferguson is the most competitive athlete he's ever had in two decades of coaching.
"He may not always lead us in scoring, but he does everything," Durant said.Ferguson shares the point guard duties for the Indians and is coming off a 22-point game when the Indians beat Carroll, 40-35, on Jan. 20.This week, the Indians will carry a 13-10 overall mark and 4-3 district record into games with Saginaw on Tuesday, after the press deadline, and Northwest on Friday.The battle with Northwest should be another challenge.The Indians closed the first half of district play by winning two of their last three games. The only loss was a 51-42 setback to district leader Keller Central at Keller on Jan. 17."My guys will hang in there," Durant said. "We come out against Central and couldn't throw it in the ocean. We were 1-for-13 to start the game and still hung in there and only lost by nine."Ferguson one of the big reasons for the Keller resurgence. The senior is the team's second-leading scorer with 10.3 points, second in rebounding (5.0), first in assists (4.0) and and first in steals (2.0)."Without him, I don't know where we'd be," Durant said. "He's just so competitive whether it's a game or practice."Keller's three district losses in the first half were by three points in overtime to Justin Northwest, by 18 to Coppell and by nine to Keller Central.Over the next three outings the Indians catch Saginaw, Northwest and Denton Guyer."It's a battle every night," Durant said. "Nearly every game comes down to the end. Central and Northwest both have senior point guards that can make a difference."Peri James scored 19 in the Texans' 59-54 win over Fossil Ridge in overtime."The kids did a lot of good things to help us win that one (over Ridge)," Northwest coach Mike Hatch said after his Texans improved to 19-7 overall and 5-2 in district."We had a couple of good defensive stops and a couple of big plays on offense."Northwest's leaders are Orlando Byrd, Todd Christensen and James.Heading into the second half of district, Central sits atop the district with 20-7 overall mark and 6-1 district record. Central's only loss is district is to Southlake Carroll, which has four district losses."It's a little bit of a surprise (that the district leader would have its only loss to a team sitting in fifth place)," Durant said. "But not really, they could go unbeaten in the second half or they might loss three or four, that's just how competitive it is."Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
