North Crowley boys basketball beats Bowie on final FT

By Jarret Johnson

jmjohnson@star-telegram.com

ARLINGTON — With the District 3-5A title and North Crowley's 81-game district winning streak on the line, senior guard Jalan McCloud made a free throw with 1.2 seconds remaining to lead the Panthers to a 71-70 victory over Bowie on Tuesday night.

"He's a good free-throw shooter; there's nobody else I'd rather have at the line," North Crowley coach Tommy Brakel said.

McCloud scored seven of the Panthers' final eight points to finish with a team-high 27. North Crowley (23-6, 10-0) has won 82 consecutive district games, dating to Feb. 2, 2007, and holds a two-game lead over the Vols in District 3-5A.

"After I missed the first one, you know every player kind of gets doubts, but I was glad I was able to knock it down and we won the game," McCloud said. "It's my last year; I'm a senior and I'm glad we can keep the streak going."

McCloud went toe-to-toe with Bowie's Jeremy Senglin, who finished with a game-high 34 points, including all 16 fourth-quarter points for the Volunteers (20-9, 8-2).

"Unless we see them in the regional quarterfinals, I'm glad to have played our last game against him, because he's a super basketball player," Brakel said. "He hit some shots early and once a scorer gets some swag about him, it's hard to shut him down."

Bowie led by as many as nine in the opening quarter, but North Crowley outscored the Vols 26-19 in the second to take a one-point lead into the break.

The second half saw the score tied five times and the lead change hands on four occasions.

The final tie came with 12 seconds remaining on a slashing layup by Senglin. On the next possession, McCloud split two free throws before Bowie's half-court shot fell short at the buzzer.

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