12:56 AM CST on Wednesday, December 29, 2004
By C. ANTHONY MOSSER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

PLANO – With a pre-district schedule that annually includes traditional area basketball powers Duncanville, Fort Worth Dunbar, Lancaster and South Garland, the Plano Wildcats are accustomed to testing themselves against high-quality opponents.

Plano (13-3) will get a chance to do so again tonight when it meets Cedar Hill, the state's top-ranked Class 5A team, in the championship game of the Plano Wildcat Classic.

Plano's Brandon Ware strips the ball from South Grand Prairie's Steven Luckey. Plano earned that opportunity by a pulling away late in its 65-56 victory over a pesky South Grand Prairie team in a tournament semifinal on Tuesday. Cedar Hill (16-1) advanced with a 50-47 win over North Mesquite. The championship game is set for 7 p.m. It will mark the first time that Plano has reached the final of its tournament since 2001, when it was the tournament champion.

"I think this is where our first six or eight games should help us," Plano coach Tom Inman said. "We should know what to expect. It's not a situation where we'll walk out there going 'wow' with our eyes wide open."

Even though Cedar Hill has been without TCU-signee Clarence Masters, a 6-5 guard who has been suspended from the team indefinitely for disciplinary reasons, they remain a formidable opponent. The Longhorns feature plenty of depth and 6-5 posts Bishop Wheatley and Brian Giddings.

That should make for an intriguing matchup, considering Plano has relied heavily on its inside game that features 6-8 Eric Zastoupil, 6-6 Joseph Fulce and 6-4 Travis Vance. That was the case against a much-smaller South Grand Prairie team on Tuesday as all three scored in double figures. Vance and Fulce led the way with 16 points apiece and Zastoupil scored 12.

"Sometimes we play better against teams like them," Fulce said. "We know they're good, but we're going to bring it, too."

Said Inman: "It should be fun. They can bump the speed of the game up and create problems that we'll have to deal with. We both like to get the ball inside, and we both run a lot of high-low stuff."

With all the emphasis on the inside game, guard play can't be overlooked.

Plano has gotten improved play from its backcourt during its two tournament games.

Junior point guard Brandon Ware scored a season-high 17 points in Monday's 79-71 overtime win over Mesquite in the quarterfinals and had several key steals. Off-guard Mark Foster's ball-handling has been helpful against pressure defense, and sixth-man Ryan Manack continues to provide a spark off the bench.

In addition, sophomore Landon Skinner saw increased minutes against South Grand Prairie after Ware got into early foul trouble.

Ware hopes to avoid that problem against Cedar Hill, and he expects his team to be ready.

"They're good," Ware said. "They're the No. 1 team in the state. As a true competitor you want to play against the best."