Timberview trio rack up points in area-round win over South Oak Cliff

When Mansfield Timberview is on, it’s hard for anyone to knock out the Wolves.

Senior guard Tim Johnson scored 30 points and Timberview beat Dallas South Oak Cliff 79-62 in its Class 5A Region II area round win on Thursday night at Irving MacArthur High School.

Timberview (27-7) moves on to face Friday’s winner between Dallas Wilson and two-time defending 5A champ Lancaster.

“It boosts our confidence a little, but it confirms what we already know,” Johnson said. “If we play the right way – defense, share the ball – we’re hard to beat.”

The Wolves led 1-0 even before the game started. Johnson hit a free throw after the Bears were called for a technical by dunking during warm-ups.

Johnson scored six points as the Wolves led 13-11 after the first quarter then his 3-point opportunity pushed it to five early in the second.

“Funny thing is I was kind of missing in warm-ups,” said Johnson, who scored 17 in the first half. “I was kind of nervous I wasn’t getting my touch, but that wasn’t going to stop me from shooting.”

South Oak Cliff’s Kedrian Johnson scored a game-high 34 points and did all he could, converting on a 3-point play to cut the Bears’ deficit to seven with 1:24 left in the third, but they wouldn’t get any closer.

Johnson’s brother Kendrick added 10 points while the rest of the team pitched in with 18 points.

“Thought they did a great job defending,” Wolves coach Duane Gregory said. “We knew who their key guys were and we forced them into contested shots and very few open looks – something I was very pleased with.”

Isaac Likekele had 21 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and two steals for Timberview. Chris Mullins added 16 points and six assists.

The Wolves shot 25 of 45 (56 percent) from the field, and 25 of 32 from the free-throw line. The Bears shot 25 of 55 (42 percent) and 11 of 19 from the line.

“It was good hard-fought win,” Likekele said. “It was a close game at first then we played hard defense down the stretch, started getting more stops and executing more on offense.”

The Bears, which won the District 11-5A title, end their season 21-11.

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 10:52 PM with the headline "Timberview trio rack up points in area-round win over South Oak Cliff."