North Crowley downs Trimble Tech, Richardson Berkner next

By John Henry

Special to the Star-Telegram

HALTOM CITY -- Suffice it to say, North Crowley's recipe for advancement in the Whataburger Tournament's Orange Division did not include having its leading scorer held without a field goal until midway through the fourth quarter.

But that's what happened on Thursday in the Panthers' 64-46 first-round victory over Fort Worth Trimble Tech at Thomas Coliseum.

With Tech focused on slowing Jalan McCloud, Brandon Webb turned in a game-high 15 points, including four 3-pointers. Torrence Neal added 13 for the Panthers, ranked 15th in Class 5A.

McCloud didn't score his first basket until 4:20 was left in the game, yet finished with 10 points in the final eight minutes.

"He understood they were trying to take him out of the game, which allowed some other people to get involved offensively," coach Tommy Brakel said.

Chasten King led the Bulldogs with 14.

Next up for the Panthers is Richardson Berkner, which received perhaps the first bye into the second round of the 55-year-old tournament.

Berkner's scheduled opponent Thursday, defending champion Little Rock Parkview, could not make the trip from Arkansas because of hazardous road conditions caused by the Christmas Day winter storm.

Berkner is ranked 10th in Class 4A.

"They're so incredibly athletic," Brakel said. "We're going to have to battle them."

On the other side, Trimble Tech gets a bye into the consolation semifinals on Saturday.

Top performances

Three of Thursday's top performances in the Orange Division belonged to players whose teams will continue in the consolation bracket.

Hayden Hunter, Richland's hard-charging junior left-handed guard, had the right stroke, scoring a game-high 22 in a 47-45 loss to Plano East. East was led by Jarvis Pugh (11), a Santa Clara commitment.

Arlington Martin got the best of Rowlett, Class 5A's No. 3-ranked team, 61-60 despite being unable to contain Jeremy Carroll (29 points) and Nathan Hawkins (22), Oklahoma State and Nebraska signees, respectively, who combined to score 51 of their team's 60 points. Nick Babb's driving lay-in with 17 seconds left gave the Warriors an upset and a second-round showdown with Bullitt East (Ky.) at 12:30 p.m. today.

Martin's Jordan Smith blocked Blake Bushnell's 3-footer as time expired.

Derek Willis isn't faster than a speeding bullet or more powerful than a locomotive, and he can't leap tall buildings in a single bound.

But, he is 6-foot-9 with a 7-1 wingspan who can play any position on the floor, handle the ball and pass like a point guard and run like a gazelle.

In the land of hoops, that's super.

Willis, a Kentucky signee, had 19 points, in a 67-47 victory over Coppell.

Roschon Prince is strong, athletic and tough. A Southern California recruit, Prince helped Long Beach Poly (Calif.) wear out Plano West with 24 points in a 75-35 victory in the late game.

By the numbers

13James Harrison's team-high point total led 13 Spring Westfield players in scoring in the state's No. 13-ranked team's 83-37 victory over Justin Northwest in the tournament opener.

17-0Duncanville's decisive third-quarter run was the difference in a 50-36 victory over Euless Trinity. Jerami Grace, son of former OU standout Ricky Grace, scored a game-high 20.

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