BY Sarah Taylor, Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, December 8, 2010

PLANO - With district season moving closer and closer, the Plano Senior boys basketball team continued its prep by defeating a former district foe, besting Lake Highlands, 80-69, on Tuesday night.

Although Plano never finished a quarter behind, every point in the Wildcats’ win was fought for.

“It seemed like every time they scored, we had answer for them,” said Sean Power, Plano senior.

Wildcats head coach Phil Parlin was pleased to get out with the victory.

“We are very excited any time we get a win,” he said. “It’s a really good thing. We have a difficult schedule, so we value those wins anytime we can get them.”

Plano went into the fourth quarter with a 17-point lead backing them up, but in a matter of minutes, Lake Highlands was knocking at their door.

Through a series of rallying fast-break transitions, including two consecutive 3-pointers, Lake Highlands tightened the game to 76-67 with 90 seconds left to play.

For Parlin, this was all too familiar.

“We didn’t value the basketball well at points,” he said. “And last time we played them they were down 19 in the fourth quarter and came back to win so we knew they had the ability to do that. We have got to do a little better job of valuing the basketball.”

With the experience from last season, Plano’s senior forward Rashad Smith was not about to let the lead slip away.

Instead he got aggressive.

Similar to the three quarters before Smith went on his own run, scoring all six of his fourth quarter points in the four-minute span in which Lake Highlands was trying to go on a run. Smith finished the night with a game-high 23 points, two of which came following a technical foul call against Lake Highlands.

“It’s definitely a confidence builder for us as we go into a tournament next weekend and get ready for our first district game,” Parlin said.

Lake Highlands’ run at the end of the game was not the only attempt they made to take control.

In the second quarter, the other Wildcats managed three steals in a matter of one minute, energizing the game for the first time. The Lake Highlands’ steals resulted in a lay-up and free throw by senior guard Trey Bingham, who matched Smith’s game-high total of 23 points.

Plano quickly responded, directly out of a Lake Highlands’ timeout with a 3-pointer from Power, who had 13 points. The half ended with Plano in front, 46-28.

“The team persevered and found a way to win, so that’s a key thing for sure,” Parlin said. “Any time you play quality teams that are well coached, like Lake Highlands, and you get a win, the guys are excited.

“Every time they win they get a little more confident in each other.”

Power gave Plano the majority of their outside presence, ending the game with 11 points, nine of which came from three-pointers. Wildcats junior Xavier Harbert brought in 13 points and senior Daniel Slaughter added in 14 points to the 80-69 win.

“I thought tonight our bench really stepped up,” Power said. “I felt a lot of the players on the team did tonight for the win.”

Plano will be back in action Friday and Saturday as part of the Hill Country Classic in Lake Travis. The Wildcats open tournament play at 1:30 p.m. Friday against Roma with the team no doubt keeping an eye on continuing to improve in anticipation of its Dec. 21 district opener against Flower Mound.