North Crowley boys turn up the heat in second half to beat Haltom in district finale
North Crowley’s loss to Haltom in last season’s playoff opener was only the third time the Panthers didn’t win a bi-district championship in their 21-year history.
So the Panthers took it personal.
North Crowley completed the season sweep over Haltom, 55-45, in a District 3-6A boys basketball game Friday night, capturing the outright district title and No. 1 seed.
The Panthers (26-1) will open the playoffs with Keller Central. Bi-district starts Thursday.
“I thought we were solid defensively the entire game. We started to hit some shots in the third quarter and turned up the pressure in the fourth,” North Crowley coach Tommy Brakel said. “All in all, a good road win, playoff type atmosphere. Getting our 19th district title in the last 21 years, it meant something to our guys.”
After a slow first half - the Buffalos and Panthers were tied 13-13 at the end of the first quarter, and 21-21 at intermission - North Crowley came out strong in the third quarter.
Layups by Remon Tuck, Marques Sales and Trey Davis built up an 8-0 North Crowley run that turned a 21-21 tie into a 29-21 lead for the Panthers. North Crowley had its biggest lead of 34-25 after a Malik Clinton 3-pointer with under three minutes left in the period.
North Crowley went up 18 after beginnng the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run.
Haltom’s Paul Bizimana, who finished with a game-high 27 points, including 13 in the fourth, tried to get the Buffs back into the game, but they got as close as seven.
Davis led the Panthers with 13 points and Sales and Tuck added 12 and 10, respectively.
“We have a balanced offense,” Tuck said. “We can go deep like nine guys. Anyone can go off any night which what makes this team so special.
“We struggled offensively in the first half so we had to pick that energy up. Get easy baskets, free throws, layups. We needed a game like this. A playoff type game before the playoffs to see where we are as a team. We got a whole lot better.”
This story was originally published February 13, 2021 at 1:52 PM.
