Basketball playoff recap: Duncanville beats DeSoto; Martin sweeps at UTA; Seguin upsets
Girls
Arlington Martin 48, LD Bell 47
With the game tied at 47, Martin went for the win, but it missed a two-foot floater.
Ariana Bracey was there to pick up the offensive rebound, which Martin had done well all night long.
She was pulled down and fouled with 0.1 on the clock.
However, Bracey was dinged up and had to come out of the game. Martin coach Brooke Brittain had a decision to make.
Who was going to shoot the free throw?
She chose Imani Gatlin-Kilgore and the senior guard drained the front end of her two attempts as Martin knocked off LD Bell in a Class 6A Region I quarterfinal game on Tuesday at UT-Arlington’s College Park Center.
Martin (35-4), ranked No. 4 in the state, clinches a regional tournament berth for the first time in program history.
The win also gave Brittain her 200th career win.
LD Bell, No. 11, finishes the season 31-4 as the illustrious high school career of Myra Gordon came to an end. She will play at Alabama next season.
Duncanville 47, DeSoto 43
In a physical, back-and-forth game befitting the top two teams in the state, No. 1 Duncanville rallied in the fourth quarter to down No. 2 DeSoto 47-43 in a Class 6A Region I quarterfinal at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center on Tuesday
DeSoto (32-3) led much of the game with neither team leading by more than six points. The Eagles were up 38-36 entering the final frame. But when it came down to a free-throw shooting contest in the final quarter, Duncanville (36-3) reigned.
All of the Panthers fourth-quarter points came on 11 of 12 free shots led by All American and five-star North Carolina signee Deja Kelly, who made 7 of 8. Duncanville made 15 of 17 on the night.
Kelly finished with 22 points to lead the Panthers. Sophomores Jiya Perry (13 points) and Ja’Mia Harris (11) paced the Eagles.
Duncanville will play Martin in a regional semifinal, 6 pm Friday at Wilkerson Greines.
Boys
Arlington Seguin 52, FW Wyatt 51 OT
The Cougars upset the No. 4 Chaparrals in overtime during a Class 5A Region I bi-district game Tuesday at Arlington Martin.
It’s the first playoff win for Seguin (18-12) since 2016.
Seguin will face off with Denton Ryan (17-10) in the area round next. Ryan beat Birdville on Monday.
Arlington Martin 62, Euless Trinity 50
Despite woeful shooting in the first half, the Warriors turned up the press and forced the Trojans into turnovers as they pulled away in the second half of their Class 6A Region I bi-district game Tuesday at UT-Arlington’s College Park Center.
Trinity (19-10), the No. 3 seed out of District 3-6A, led 26-21 at intermission. The game was knotted at 37 entering the fourth.
The Warriors (25-10), the third-ranked area team and tri-champions from District 4-6A, began to distance themselves midway through the fourth quarter when Trey Glenn’s layup made it 52-44.
Glenn followed it with a 3-pointer from the left wing and Martin led 55-44 with 1:57 left.
Mansfield Legacy 65, FW Arlington Heights 32
With 4:04 to play in the third quarter, Mansfield Legacy’s John Muhammad brought the Broncos fans and his bench to their feet with an eye-popping play.
Muhammad cut down the lane, dribbled behind his back then fired a no-look pass to the left wing to Kesean Overby, who hit a wide-open 3-pointer that gave the Broncos a 46-24 lead over Fort Worth Arlington Heights.
The Broncos kept up the pressure in the second half on their way to a 65-32 victory over the Yellow Jackets in a Class 5A Region I bi-district game Tuesday at North Crowley.
“The kids liked to have fun and I like to celebrate with them at times,” Legacy coach Cornelius Mitchell said. “Basketball has to be fun. These guys work too hard to not have any fun.”
Legacy (26-9) will take on Colleyville Heritage in the area round of the playoffs.
Heritage defeated The Colony, 44-42.
The Broncos jumped out to a 20-6 lead after one quarter and held a 33-19 halftime advantage. Legacy got hot again in the third quarter outscoring Heights, 21-9, to carry a 54-28 lead into the fourth quarter.
“Everybody is good in the playoffs,” Mitchell said. “We wanted to create a little bit of separation early. We knew this game was going to be a dogfight.”
Muhammad finished with a game-high 17 points while Justin Crawford finished with 12.
“Our shots fell early and we had some things go our way,” Mitchell said. “Our guys played with a lot of confidence tonight and the more confidence they have, the harder they play.”
Burleson Centennial 76, FW Southwest 55
Last season, Burleson Centennial slipped past Southwest with a 53-52 opening-round playoff victory.
That wasn’t the case Tuesday night as the Spartans erased all memories of the last-second win with a convincing 76-55 win over the Raiders in a Class 5A Region I bi-district game at North Crowley.
“We didn’t let our players forget about what happened a year ago,” Centennial coach Trovocia Jackson said. “Southwest is a well-coached team and I knew their coach (Lance) Harper was going to have his guys prepared. We just wanted to make sure that our players stayed locked in.”
The Spartans (29-6) will take on Brewer (23-9) in an area-round game. Brewer defeated Little Elm, 57-50.
Centennial’s 29 wins is a school record. Last season, the squad set the mark with 24 victories.
Playing at North Crowley was special for Centennial senior guard Keryn Collins, who had to sit out last season after transferring from North Crowley. Collins scored a game-high 21 points for the Spartans.
“This was his first time playing a varsity game at North Crowley, so it was a little personal for him to be on this floor and perform well,” Jackson said. “I’m proud of him.”
Collins scored five of the Spartans’ first seven points in the game as Centennial built a 20-14 lead after one quarter. Southwest (18-14) trailed 33-27 at halftime after scoring 13 second-quarter points.
The Spartans, who have never advanced past the second round of the playoffs, turned up the intensity on offense and defense in the second half outscoring the Raiders, 43-28.
In the first 3:55 of the third quarter, Centennial put the game away with a 16-4 run that pushed its lead to 49-33.
“The guys came out and defended,” Jackson said. “They got some key stops at some big moments that we were able to take advantage of tonight.”
Centennial had three other players hit double-figure scoring. Senior guard Tayton Conerway scored 20 points, senior guard Zach Bolf tallied 16 and senior forward Jacob Stuckey finished with 12.
Junior forward Markiece Rhine paced Southwest with 17 points while junior guard Lawrence Ward chipped in 10.
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 10:44 PM.
