The Cooldown: Week 27
We’re in the stretch run of the playoffs with San Antonio just around the corner. Most metroplex area teams have been eliminated and the best handful of teams remain alive. Waxahachie and Duncanville will have an opportunity to sweep Houston area teams out of Region II on Tuesday. Jesuit will travel west to take on El Paso Americas. Richardson will face Byron Nelson in the only 6A matchup between two DFW area teams in the Regional Semifinals. Let’s recap some games from last week and look ahead to the path to San Antonio.
Richardson tops undefeated South Grand Prairie
The South Grand Prairie Warriors are undefeated no more. The Warriors lost their first game of the season last Friday night against No. 3 Richardson. Even still, it was a remarkable season for South Grand Prairie. Khaden Bennett did everything in his power to keep SGP in the game, finishing with 20 points on the night. Jordan Roberts added 13 points, but the Warriors lacked a third double-digit scorer. Jaden Flournoy and Donavhn Sanford each finished with six points. Cason Wallace was unstoppable for Richardson, finished with a game high 31 points on 12-16 shooting. Wallace got it rolling early and never looked back. Derek Burns finished with 13 points and Rylan Griffen added 10 points, including a six-point flurry at the end of the third quarter featuring two nice step-backs and a dunk just before the buzzer.
Mansfield Timberview outlasts O.D. Wyatt
Mansfield Timberview eliminated O.D. Wyatt 57-55 in a thriller to advance on Saturday. Marcell McCreary finished with a game high 22 points for O.D. Wyatt. Jared Washington led the way for Timberview with 15 points. Donovan O’Day and Braylon Crosby each added 11 points. Wyatt took a 19-11 lead after one quarter but trailed by five entering the final frame. O.D. Wyatt would outscore Timberview 21-18 in the 4th quarter, but the Wolves held on for the win to advance. Timberview will face No. 6 Amarillo in the next round.
Player of the Week
My player of the week is Byron Nelson’s Finley Bizjack! The sophomore guard averaged 26 points over two games to power Byron Nelson past Abilene and North Crowley and into the Regional Semifinals! Bizjack will need to put up similar numbers against No. 3 Richardson to give Byron Nelson a chance to advance to the Regional Final.
Team of the Week
My team of the week is the Kimball Knights! Kimball eliminated No. 18 Frisco Wakeland and No. 12 South Oak Cliff to advance to the Regional Semifinals! The road doesn’t get any easier with No. 11 Highland Park next on the schedule, and a potential matchup with No. 1 Lancaster if it beats Highland Park. Welcome to the playoffs, Kimball.
Remaining Bracket
6A
No. 3 Richardson vs Byron Nelson
Tip-off between the third ranked Eagles and Byron Nelson is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night at Prosper Rock Hill. Richardson’s dynamic duo of Cason Wallace and Rylan Griffen have Richardson poised for a run to San Antonio after a thrilling win over No. 4 South Grand Prairie. Byron Nelson is coming off a thrilling victory of its own 72-70 in overtime over No. 10 North Crowley. Finley Bizjack leads the way for the Bobcats and will need to have a big night if Byron Nelson is to upset another state ranked squad. The winner of this game will face the winner of Jesuit and El Paso Americas.
Jesuit vs No. 15 El Paso Americas
Jesuit’s magical run through the playoff continues on Tuesday night. The Rangers downed No. 8 McKinney 64-60 and Lake Highlands 55-46 last week to advance to the regional semifinals. El Paso Americas defeated Frenship 48-41 to advance to face Jesuit. Gavin Perryman will need to have another big scoring night for Jesuit to advance this week. The winner of this game will face the winner of Richardson and Byron Nelson in the next round.
No. 1 Waxahachie vs Cy Woods
These two teams will meet in Temple on Tuesday night to decide who advance to the next round. Waxahachie has been the team to beat all season long. The Indians eliminated Rockwall and No. 9 Killeen Ellison last week to advance. A 22-point night from CJ Noland powered Waxahachie past Killeen Ellison. The Indians have several guys who can score in double figures on any given night and will be tough to eliminate. Cy Woods will go for it at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night. The winner of this game will face the winner of Duncanville and Cy Park.
No. 2 Duncanville vs Cy Park
Duncanville will meet Cy Park on Tuesday night in Fairfield. The Panthers topped Mansfield and Sachse will ease last week to advance to the Regional Semifinals. Five Panthers scored in double figures for Duncanville in its 73-53 win over Mansfield on Saturday. Damon Nicholas led the way with 15 points and Zhuric Phelps added 14 points. Ron Holland finished with 12 points while CJ Ford finished with 11 points and Juan Reyna finished with 10 points. Duncanville’s depth is special and has powered the Panthers all the way to the Regional Semifinals. A win over Cy Park would set up a showdown between No. 1 and No. 2 against the only other team in the state that can match Duncanville depth wise. Waxahachie has just as many talented players as Duncanville does. In a normal world, this matchup could sell out arenas.
5A
No. 4 Mansfield Timberview vs No. 6 Amarillo
Mansfield Timberview is battle tested. The Wolves survived a scare from No. 5 O.D. Wyatt 57-55 on Saturday to advance to the Regional Semifinals. Now the Wolves will get to face the sixth ranked team in the state in Amarillo. The two teams will meet in Burkburnett on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. to decide who will advance to the Regional Final.
No. 13 Mansfield Summit vs No. 19 El Paso Chapin
Look! Another team from Mansfield making a deep playoff run! Summit beat No. 14 Mansfield Legacy to advance to the Regional Semifinal. Summit will meet Chapin at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Andrews. A win would set up a Mansfield showdown with Timberview for the right to go to the Final Four.
No. 1 Lancaster vs No. 9 Mount Pleasant
Lancaster cruised over Frisco Heritage and Newman Smith last to set up a showdown with No. 9 Mount Pleasant. The Tigers are ranked No. 1 for good reason, but Lancaster will get its first real test of the playoffs against Mount Pleasant. One thing is for sure, Lancaster has a good a shot as any team in the state behind Wade Taylor IV.
No. 10 Kimball vs No. 11 Highland Park
Kimball will take on Highland Park on Tuesday in Midlothian at 7 p.m. to decide which team moves on to the Regional Final. Kimball survived No. 12 South Oak Cliff 59-55 to advance to the Regional Semifinals. Arterio Morris dropped 22 points and Kyron Henderson finished with 19 points in the win over SOC. Kimball also topped No. 18 Frisco Wakeland 69-63 in the Area round last week. Highland Park beat Longview and Midlothian to advance to the Regional Semifinal. Kimball has had a tough playoff road so far, and it doesn’t get easier against No. 11 Highland Park. The winner of this game will face the winner of No. 1 Lancaster and No. 9 Mount Pleasant. Not many teams in the state have had a tougher playoff road than Kimball has.