BY Kevin Hageland Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, January 5, 2010 10:32 PM CST

PLANO - One victory can change a lot.

Plano Senior came into Tuesday’s game against Plano West in a funk. The team had struggled during the State Farm Wildcat Holiday Classic and the early stages of 8-5A play. Plano responded by doing what no other district team has done since 2007-08: beat West.

“West ran the table last year, so it’s nice to be the team that was able to beat them,” said Phil Parlin, Plano head coach. “We finally played a complete game. And West is so good; you have to play the whole 32 minutes if you want to beat them.”

Plano held a 42-39 edge with less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter when senior Rashad Smith doubled the Wildcats lead with a 3-pointer, his first field goal of the night.

Plano sophomore Austin Mitchell, who had eight points, kept the momentum going with a steal and lay-in to put the Wildcats in front, 47-39. West made a last-minute push with five straight points, including a trifecta from junior Deshon Portley, but would get no closer than three. Plano sophomore Dwayne Hicks sealed the game by grabbing a rebound with 2.6 seconds remaining and set the final score at 52-46 with a pair of free throws. Hicks finished the night with 13 points and six rebounds.

“Our young guys did very well tonight,” Parlin said. “Dwayne was a tough cover all night and Austin got that huge steal for us.”

Plano got the win, but early on it appeared as if West would run away with the game as the Wolves amassed a 12-3 lead.

Much of the credit for that advantage goes to junior Geoffrey Groselle, who had 10 points and five rebounds in the first four minutes of the game. Groselle, who ended the night with 21 points and 12 boards, wouldn’t add much to that total in the first two quarters. Going against Plano senior David Thompson, who had 10 points and eight rebounds, Groselle picked up two fouls and sat the remainder of the half.

The absence of Groselle and senior Jackson Jeffcoat, who is in San Antonio for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, left West with only sophomore Holt Harmon, who did have six rebounds, as a post presence.

“Jeffcoat is out and then Groselle got those ticky-tack fouls, so that made things a little different for us,” said Anthony Morgan, West head coach. “I thought about bringing Groselle back in the first half, but we stayed close and I thought we could withstand it.”

The Wolves fell behind thanks in large part to struggles at the free throw line and strong defense from the Wildcats. Plano piled up a 2-to-1 rebound advantage and held a 26-21 lead at the break.

That edge evaporated quickly in the third quarter as Groselle returned and continued to cause havoc in the paint. Points from Groselle and Portley, who had seven, allowed West to go on an 11-2 run.

But Plano countered with a 7-0 spurt on the shoulders of Hicks and surged back in front, 35-32, heading into the fourth.

“We started getting away from what we do as a team and settled for all these threes,” Morgan said. “But credit Plano for that too; it’s always tough at their place.”

West returns home Friday against Jesuit while Plano hits the road to face Allen. The Wildcats will enter that game with momentum, but the team knows there is still much to be done.

“We have been down on each other and that’s what happens when you don’t win,” Parlin said. “But I think we’ve got some confidence going and now it’s a matter of doing something with it.”