Kennedale wears down Springtown

By Darren Lauber

Special to the Star-Telegram

KENNEDALE -- Kennedale used a suffocating full-court press to erased a 10-point halftime deficit and clinch the District 6-3A title with a 86-58 victory over Springtown on Friday night.

Kennedale, ranked No. 3 by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches in Class 3A, trailed by as much as 42-29 when Springtown's Dylan Ray hit a 3-pointer with 6:15 left in the third quarter, but after that it was all Wildcats.

Kennedale (29-2, 9-0 in 6-3A) went on a 24-2 run with Kelon Doss and Oscar Howard combining for 17 points and eight steals during the streak. The comeback was punctuated with dunks by Ty Charles and Aundre Jackson.

"We started off slow, but we came together as a team after halftime," said Charles, who led the Wildcats with 19 points. "I talked to them and told them 'let's go' and we kicked it on at the right time."

Five Kennedale players finished in double figures with Charles, Jackson (18), Doss (15), Howard (10), V.J. Hughes (10).

Springtown (19-10, 6-3) is playoff-bound as well and gave Kennedale a scare early.

Caleb Brown scored seven of the final 10 points of the first quarter as Springtown led 18-15 and 35-25 at the half.

"We just missed a lot of shots we normally hit and had some uncharacteristic turnovers, but we did do a great job rebounding and limiting them to one shot which is important for us," Kennedale coach Doug Groff said.

Kennedale went on a 16-2 run early in the fourth quarter as its depth wore down Springtown.

"We picked up the intensity on defense," said Groff as his team took turns cutting down the net on the West end of the gym. "And I thought we did a really good job in the second half."

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