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MANSFIELD — Marchie Murdock was breathing a sigh of relief when he was walking to the locker room after Mansfield Legacy’s 51-40 win against Lancaster on Tuesday night at Legacy High School.
“Defense wins championships,” the Legacy coach said. “But missing free throws will make you lose it.”
The Broncos overcame seven missed free throw in the fourth quarter with a swarming defense that harassed the high-scoring Tigers. It was a tactic Legacy used all night. Lancaster, a team that likes to average over 60 points a game, was held 20 points below that by Legacy.
Murdock said his team doesn’t have the athletes at every position that Lancaster features. That’s why he was proud of his team’s defensive effort in the win.
“We always talking about guarding people,” Murdock said. “It showed tonight. We didn’t allow any dribble penetration. They made some runs, but our defense stayed with our game plan and we rebounded the ball and limited them to one shot.”
The Broncos (21-7, 7-1 in District 15-4A) maintained a four- to six-point lead for the majority of the second half, until Lancaster made one more run halfway through the fourth quarter.
Lancaster senior guard Kealon Wilson knocked down a 3-pointer to cut Legacy’s lead to 39-37 with 4:38 left. Legacy senior guard Brett Potter answered with a 3-pointer of his own.
Potter stole the ball on Lancaster’s ensuing possession and raced all the way to the hoop and scored. In less than 20 seconds, Potter scored five straight points and Legacy had a 44-37 lead with 2:54 left.
“It was just adrenaline, it felt good,” Potter said with a smile. “I just had it going there.”
The Broncos held the Tigers to just one made field goal in the final four minutes to seal the win.
Lancaster (9-15, 4-4) started the game strong, scoring the game’s first eight points. Wilson and senior guard Bobby Word combined for the Tigers first 11 points to grab an 11-4 lead over Legacy just halfway through the first quarter.
Legacy answered by holding Lancaster to just five points in the second quarter and the Broncos led 25-20 at halftime.
Word led all scorers with 18 points. Potter finished with 14 points to lead Legacy.
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| Rank | Team | Win/loss | Previous | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cedar Hill | 17-2 | - | |
| 2. | North Crowley | 15-5 | - | |
| 3. | Duncanville | 15-4 | - | |
| 4. | Richland | 13-3 | - | |
| 5. | South Grand Prairie | 14-4 | - | |
| 6. | Colleyville Heritage | 14-5 | - | |
| 7. | Justin Northwest | 17-4 | - | |
| 8. | Arlington | 14-7 | - | |
| 9. | Coppell | 15-5 | - | |
| 10. | Arlington Lamar | 12-6 | - | |
| Week 8 (01/03/2011-01/09/2011) | ||||
| Rank | Team | Win/loss | Previous | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mansfield Summit | 14-6 | - | |
| 2. | Grace Prep | 14-5 | - | |
| 3. | FW Arlington Heights | 12-2 | - | |
| 4. | FW Trimble Tech | 17-3 | - | |
| 5. | Azle | 13-3 | - | |
| 6. | Crowley | 11-8 | - | |
| 7. | Everman | 14-4 | - | |
| 8. | Kennedale | 10-1 | - | |
| 9. | FW Southwest | 11-8 | - | |
| 10. | Nolan Catholic | 10-5 | ||
| Week 8 (01/03/2011-01/09/2011) | ||||
