Mansfield Timberview shoots nearly 60 percent in rout of Manor in 5A state semifinals
Defend, run, repeat.
That’s Mansfield Timberview’s motto this season. But the Wolves can score quickly too.
Timberview, ranked No. in Class 5A, returns to the state final after a 79-55 victory over Manor in the 5A state semifinals on Thursday at the Alamodome.
The Wolves (37-2) extend their winning streak to 18 games and will face No. 2 San Antonio Wagner (33-5) in the title game at 3 p.m. on Saturday. They’ll look for their second title in three years.
Manor (28-11), which made its first trip to state in program history, kept up with the experienced Wolves early on. The Mustangs led 7-4 following a Jamal Shead layup in the paint. But Timberview reeled off the next 12 points, highlighted by a CJ Smith 3-pointer to give the Wolves a 15-7 lead midway through the opening quarter. Smith scored 16 points in the first half.
“I thought we came out and executed really well defensively.” Timberview coach Duane Gregory said. “This group does an excellent job at taking a scouting report and executing it on the floor. They’ve done that all season long. I thought we shared the ball really well too in the first quarter.”
The Mustangs cut it to seven late in the period until the Wolves scored the final six to take a 24-11 lead into the second. Manor scored on a Augustine Arroyo three and Quentin Middleton fast-break layup to get within 24-18.
Timberview led 40-29 at intermission and added the first seven points of the third to own its largest lead at 47-29 not a minute into the period. The Wolves extended the run to 11-0 on a Trazarien White basket with 5:15 to go in the quarter.
The Wolves led 59-39 after three. They led by as much as 25 three times in the fourth quarter, the first after a layup by Raam Stevenson that made it 73-48 with 2:06 left.
Timberview shot 55 percent from the floor while holding the Mustangs to 36 percent. Smith led all scorers with 24 points. He shot 7 of 14 from the field and 9 of 10 at the line. White registered 19 points and 10 rebounds and Rodrigo Soares chipped in 13 and 10. Marquiss Childs recorded nine points and three steals.
‘It’s a cliche to say ‘pound for pound,’ but CJ is really one of the toughest guys around,” Gregory said. “He’s the smallest out there most of the time, but he’s the toughest. He plays with good basketball IQ and plays great on both ends, all these guys do. He had a big game, no doubt.”
“CJ is the toughest guard I know,” White added. “He’s small, but he can hang with anyone. He’s a great leader for this team and when he’s playing well, we feed off that and we’re hard to beat.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 8:27 PM.
