Texans sitting pretty near season’s end

By Kevin Lonnquist

klonnquist@star-telegram.com

It’s almost as if the Northwest boys basketball team is at a point in the district season where it’s in no-man’s land.

The Texans (15-13, 6-5 in 4-5A) entered the week in third place by themselves, one game ahead of Carroll, Keller Timber Creek and Keller Fossil Ridge. This week at Keller Central on Tuesday and home to district co-leader Keller Friday represented a pretty good situation.

Even if Northwest loses both games, it still wouldn’t put the Texans in a dire situation because Timber Creek, Fossil Ridge and Carroll can’t all go 2-0. Timber Creek and Fossil Ridge play each other Tuesday. Fossil Ridge is playing co-district leader Richland Friday. Carroll has the best chance to go 2-0 facing Haltom and Central.

Coach Mike Hatch isn’t worried about the way his team is playing despite a pair of losses to Timber Creek and Richland. While the offense averaged just 36.5 points in those two games, the team is doing exactly what he wants.

“We played a great game against Richland,” Hatch said. “We couldn’t have executed in the half court any better. They did what they were supposed to do. We were just 4-of-13 on free throws and shot 29 percent in the paint.

“I thought we played really well against Timber Creek. We had control of the game going into the fourth quarter, but we quit defending and were a little too relaxed on defense.”

Of course, the Texans could clinch a tie or an outright playoff spot with a pair of wins. They know they will get a spirited effort from the Indians, whom they knocked off in the first meeting, 42-23.

The great thing about this team is that it hasn’t allowed its last seven opponents to break 50 points. That will keep you in games.

“Our kids feel pretty good right now,” Hatch said. “We struggled to score a little bit, but they are listening to the scouting reports a lot more and they’re confidence is good.”

Going for the glass

The rebounding has really picked up for the Texans. Hatch has implemented an intense seven-minute daily drill that requires the players to just fight for the ball. It creates a tougher team. Offensively, it presents second- and third-shot opportunities. Defensively, it can hold opponents to one shot.

It’s working.

Hatch said his team is winning the rebounding war by an average of eight per game. In district play, Todd Christensen is averaging about 11, David Ogunwolu is averaging 6.5 and Elijah Christman is at 4.5 per game. That’s 22 rebounds between three players.

“You couldn’t ask for any more than what they’re doing,” Hatch said. “The margin is an unheard-of number.”

Byron Nelson update

The Bobcats (23-5, 9-2 in 5-4A) have clinched a postseason berth for the third consecutive season. While there was the frustration in the 49-43 loss to Denton Guyer to fall into a second-place tie with Denton, the Bobcats responded with a buzzer-beating 37-34 win at Wichita Falls.

Senior guard Keyunta Watkins hit a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired. It was only the second made field goal in the second half. The Bobcats were 2-of-28.

So now, the idea is to be playing for positioning and making sure a rhythm develops. Nelson played host to White Settlement Brewer on Tuesday and travels to Azle on Friday.

“We just haven’t been making some shots, but the looks are there,” coach Scott Curran said. “There’s really no pressure on us this week because we’re in the playoffs. We’re just dealing with the ups and downs of the season.”

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