North Crowley downs Arlington Bowie again to make regional semis

By Jarret Johnson

jmjohnson@star-telegram.com

This time of year has become business as usual for North Crowley.

The Panthers defeated District 3-5A rival Arlington Bowie 77-49 in their Class 5A Region I quarterfinals matchup at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center, advancing to the Region I semifinals for the sixth consecutive year.

The Panthers (29-7) will face Hebron (35-2) at 6 p.m. Friday at Wilkerson-Greines.

North Crowley took control in third quarter after leading by seven at the half. The Panthers went on a 9-0 run to start the second half and outscored Bowie 29-12 .

“Out of the half, we said that we have to come out aggressive, attack the basket and get in the paint,” said senior Jalen McCloud, who scored nine of his 12 points in the third. “We had a game plan, we came out, executed and was able to win by a large margin.”

Four Panthers scored in double digits, led by 6-foot-8 Norense Odiase, who slammed in three dunks in the fourth period en route to 14 points.

Defensively, North Crowley shined, surrendering just 21 points in the second half. North Crowley held the Volunteers’ leading scorer, Jeremy Senglin — who torched the Panthers for 34 points in their previous matchup — to five points and none after the break.

“I just thought it was a phenomenal defensive performance by us tonight,” North Crowley coach Tommy Brakel said. “Jeremy Senglin is such an incredible basketball player and particularly as a scorer, and I think it was a great job by Kevin Simmons and Rod Young. They made him work for every single thing.”

The win marked the third North Crowley victory over Bowie this season and the sixth in the two seasons.

Jarret Johnson, 817-390-7760 Twitter: @JohnsonJarret

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