Basketball Recap: Crowley, Boswell, Timberview clinch district

For the third-straight year, the Crowley girls clinched a district title after the Eagles hung on against Cleburne 57-53. Avery Brittingham scored a game-high 23 points while Taelour Pruitt added 21 points.

Both squads traded blows in the first half with Cleburne taking an 11-10 lead after the first quarter. Crowley tied it at 23-23 at halftime.

The Eagles (21-5, 12-0 in 9-5A) took a five-point lead into the fourth and hung on for the victory.

Crowley shared a district title the past two years, but won the outright 9-5A title this season with a four-game lead with two left. The Eagles visit Joshua on Friday and host Arlington Seguin on Feb. 7.

Burleson Centennial defeated Seguin to force a three-way tie for second among Centennial, Seguin and Cleburne at 8-4.

Boswell, Timberview

Two more 12-0 district teams, Saginaw Boswell and Mansfield Timberview also clinched district titles. Boswell defeated Saginaw 79-33 as Lacie Hawthorne scored a game-high 23 points.

The Pioneers entered the night No. 6 in Class 5A and improved to 31-3 and 12-0 in 6-5A, winning their 20th straight. They clinched at least a share with a two-game lead on Justin Northwest. They finish with Chisholm Trail and Aledo.

Timberview rallied to beat Legacy 69-63 as Texas A&M signee Chennedy Carter scored 31 points. The Wolves, No. 2 in 5A, improved to 29-2 and 12-0 in 10-5A.

Playoff bound

LD Bell entered the fourth quarter trailing by two before rallying to beat Southlake Carroll 41-33. The Raiders improved to 19-11 on the season and 9-3 in District 5-6A.

With the win, Bell clinched a postseason berth for the sixth-straight season following Flower Mound’s win vs. Marcus.

University of Connecticut signee Lexi Gordon led all scorers with 20 points. The Raiders trailed 31-30 with four minutes to play before finishing the game on an 11-2 run.

With two games left, Bell is tied for second place with Flower Mound, one game back of Euless Trinity, which Bell owns the season series. The Raiders and Flower Mound are tied in their series.

Other area playoff teams: Keller, Weatherford, Bowie, Lamar, Martin, North Crowley, Trinity, Boswell, Northwest, Aledo, Chisholm Trail, Trimble Tech, Arlington Heights, Wyatt, Southwest, Colleyville Heritage, Grapevine, Birdville, Crowley, Seguin, Centennial, Cleburne, Timberview, Summit, Kennedale, Godley

BOYS

Just when District 4-6A is figured out, they give us a complete 360. Mansfield trailed district leading Martin 34-31 at the break before outscoring the Warriors 19-9 in the third quarter.

The Tigers used a 20-16 fourth quarter for the victory 70-59. They improved to 16-13 and 7-3. Garrett Shaw scored a game-high 25 points. Others in double figures included Evan McCarthy (18), Saiid Adebo (12) and DJ Whiteside (11).

North Crowley defeated Bowie 59-56 in overtime to force a tie in the season series. Jordon Myers scored 18 points. Tre Thomas and Kalem Hardaway added 16 and 12 points. The Panthers are second at 8-2, 21-6 overall. Martin is 9-1 in district - the Warriors host the Panthers on Feb. 7.

Mansfield is third while Bowie is fourth at 6-4 with four games left.

State ranked thriller

No. 22 Chisholm Trail led 29-16 at halftime only to see No. 17 Justin Northwest make it a one-possession game late, but the Rangers hung on for a 56-54 road victory.

The Rangers went 1 of 2 at the free throw line with 7.6 left. Northwest went down and missed twice, including the final attempt rimming out at the buzzer.

Cameron Huntsman led all scorers with 19 points. Dustin Mathis added 16 for the Rangers (20-5, 8-2 in 6-5A).

Jordan Keyes led the Texans (24-5, 9-1) with 16. Avery Anderson added 15, 11 in the fourth. Brewer beat Aledo as the Bears and Rangers are tied for second place, a game back of Northwest with four games left.

Welcome back

In his first game back in two weeks, TCU signee RJ Nembhard of Keller returned Tuesday night in a big way for the Indians.

Fossil Ridge led No. 15 Keller 15-12 after the first quarter, but Nembhard and the Indians outscored the Panthers 34-14 in the second and third quarters, then went on to beat Fossil Ridge 59-48.

Nembhard finished with 35 points, six rebounds and three steals. Carson Hughes added 17 points for Keller, which improved to 23-2 overall and 7-1 in 3-6A, still in first place.

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 11:28 PM with the headline "Basketball Recap: Crowley, Boswell, Timberview clinch district."