The Cooldown: Week 18

DFW - Week Eighteen

Football season is officially over and The Cooldown has now transitioned from football to basketball coverage. The UIL State Championships just wrapped up over a week ago but we had plenty of basketball to cover last week with holiday tournaments in full swing. Let’s take a look at three thoughts on basketball last week in the DFW area.

John Paul II and Dickinson win Allen Invitational

The Dickinson basketball team left Allen with a championship and a close 69-66 victory over the host team Allen Eagles in the championship game. I had the opportunity to watch Tramon Mark and this Gators basketball team and they have all the tools to make a deep state run. You can read more on the Gators in The Cooldown on our Houston site.

I was impressed with Allen’s depth and making a run to the championship game and almost beating a good Dickinson team says a lot about this squad. Allen will be a team that we will be keeping an eye on throughout the rest of the season as they too have the depth and talent to make a run at the state championship.

John Paul II won the 5A-6A Silver Bracket Championship at the Allen Invitational. The Cardinals beat Mansfield Summit 50-48 and have looked great up to this point in the season. John Paul II already has several quality wins over 6A programs, including DeSoto, and has showcased an explosive offense led by Jaylen Tot and Jaylon Tyson.

Duncanville takes Whataburger Tournament

Duncanville won the orange division at the Whataburger Tournament by defeating some very talented teams. The Panthers beat South Grand Prairie 70-51 to win the championship. Duncanville edged a good DeSoto team 48-46 to make it to the championship game. Micah Peavy led the way with 14 points for the Panthers in the win over South Grand Prairie and earned All-Tournament honors.

As the defending state champions, Duncanville remains the team to beat. After being lead by Texas Tech Freshman Jahmius Ramsey It’s Peavy’s turn to lead this team on a deep state tournament run and we will have much more coverage of Duncanville this season in The Cooldown.

Duncanville Women's Basketball

The men’s team just won the Whataburger Tournament and the Lady Panthers look ready for another potential run to the state championship game. The women’s team upset Sierra Canyon at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest and rose to the No. 1 team in the nation. They added to what's already been an outstanding season by winning the Sandra Meadow’s Tournament last weekend. All of this comes on the heels of another state championship appearance for the football team. I guess Duncanville is the City of Champions for a reason. Check back right here on The Cooldown every Monday and on our Twitter feed @ihss_dfw for more coverage of both teams throughout this season.