The Cooldown- Week 18
Cover Photo courtesy of the Dallas Morning News/ Elias Valverde II
District play is here across the state after some great holiday basketball tournaments wrapped up last week. District play is the real beginning to the season as we start to decide which teams are seeded where and we separate the playoff teams from the teams that will be watching the state tournament from home. First, let’s recap some of the holiday tournaments from last week.
Richardson beats Duncanville in Whataburger Championship Game
The Whataburger Tournament never disappoints, and it delivered once again with a championship game between two of the top teams in the entire nation- let alone in the metroplex. Top ranked Duncanville faced No. 2 Richardson in the Whataburger Tournament Championship Game and the two teams delivered the best game of the year so far with Richardson holding on for a 60-58 win in overtime. Cason Wallace paced Richardson with 23 points and was named Whataburger Tournament MVP. Rylan Griffen and Pharaoh Amadi each added 11 points for Richardson.
Ron Holland led the way for Duncanville with 19 points and Davion Sykes added 14 points. Aric Demings scored 10 points and Ashton Hardaway finished with six points and missed a three-point attempt that would have given Duncanville the lead with just seconds remaining in overtime. Anthony Black wasn’t ruled eligible to play until the second half of the game and entered the game in the fourth quarter. Black scored five points in the game and four points in the overtime period.
These two teams will likely meet again deep in the playoffs. Anthony Black should be eligible for that game and figures to provide a boost for Duncanville. The margin of victory was just two points and the game decided in overtime, and we can only hope for a rematch that lives up to the hype like round one did. These are the best two teams in the country and the two will likely meet again in San Antonio.
In-N-Out Allen Holiday Invitational Recap
The In-N-Out Tournament hosted by the Allen Eagles didn’t crown a champion in 2021, though the plan is to return to a bracket format in 2022. Instead, each team got to play four games and each pool crowned a champion.
Allen won the Pool A title with a 69-66 win over Frisco Heritage. Trent Pane led the way with 19 points. Frisco Memorial won the Pool B title with wins over Austin Lake Travis, Sulphur Springs and Rowlett. Avery Jackson Jr. gave Sulphur Springs 30 points and was named to the All-Tournament team. A Houston area team, Clear Brook, won the Pool C title with a win over Naaman Forest. Plano East won the Pool D title with a big win over Jesuit behind big performances from Brandon Hardison and Jordan Mizell, who were both named to the All-Tournament team.
Duncanville defeats Conway (AR) in Sandra Meadows Championship
Duncanville won a thriller over the top ranked team in Arkansas for the Sandra Meadows Championship. Duncanville survived three last second shot attempts to outlast Conway 73-72 in the championship game.
Freshman Kenidi Glover led the way with 23 points and was named MVP of the Sandra Meadows Tournament for powering her team to victory in the championship game. Victoria Flores added 19 points and Tajenae Gooden scored 15 points. Kaylinn Kemp added nine points and Kiersten Johnson scored seven points in the win. All of that was to hold off a 38-point effort from Chloe Clardy for Conway. Duncanville defeated a tough Frisco Liberty squad 56-53 in overtime to advance to the championship game. Glover scored 22 points and Gooden scored 16 points in the win over Frisco Liberty. Jazzy Owens- Barnett led Frisco Liberty with 17 points in the overtime loss.
Player of the Week
My Player of the Week is Duncanville’s Kenidi Glover! Duncanville won the Sandra Meadows Tournament thanks to Glover’s big performances against Frisco Liberty and Conway (AR) to power Duncanville to the championship in the 71st Sandra Meadows Classic. Glover averaged 22.5 points over the last two games of the tournament and did so as a freshman!
Cover Photo of the Richardson basketball team courtesy of the Dallas Morning News and Staff Photographer Elias Valverde II