Arlington Bowie holds off Wichita Falls Hirschi late

By Kevin Casas

Special to the Star-Telegram

Arlington Bowie coach Allen Gratts knew he'd get a good look at how his team stacked up with district play looming.

When the Volunteers defeated Wichita Falls Hirschi 81-74 Saturday in Game 2 of the DFW Basketball Challenge at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center, it was clear -- Bowie will be in the thick of the District 3-5A race this season.

Having lost Friday night to Bowie's district-rival North Crowley, Hirschi just didn't have the energy to stay with Bowie late.

"There's still a lot of things we need to work on, but I'm pleased where we're at," Gratts said. "This kind of game is a great opportunity for the kids, playing against some great competition."

A defensive adjustment with guard Jeremy Senglin early in the fourth quarter helped fuel the victory as Hirschi's Marcus Foster, who had 37 points, rallied the Huskies down the stretch.

Senglin, who led Bowie (10-1) with 19 points and earned MVP honors, had man-to-man duty on Foster, who for much of the game. Foster had 14 points in a 23-15 stretch that helped Hirschi (7-6) take a 57-56 lead to the fourth period. It was the Huskies' first lead of the game.

"I could see we were getting a little tired midway through the game, so we made that switch to give Jeremy a breather," Gratts said. "I think it worked out pretty well."

Senglin seemed to get a second wind and scored 11 points in the final quarter, including two 3-pointers and a monster dunk that brought the bench to its feet. And Bowie hit 6 of 7 free throws down the stretch to seal it.

"Early on I wasn't hitting anything," Senglin said. "I just wanted to get my teammates involved and that started to create some opportunities."

Brandon Hall had 17 points and Malcolm Hughes had 16 for Bowie.

Torrance Cooper and D'Shan Harley had 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Hirschi.

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