01/10/2005
By: CHRIS ROARK

LEWISVILLE - A couple of three-pointers by Mark Foster, a couple of traveling calls that went Plano's way, and suddenly a game of catch-up against Lewisville has the other teams in District 8-5A playing catch-up with the Wildcats.

Plano rallied from a nine-point deficit Friday to force overtime, where it beat Lewisville, 56-51. The Wildcats (16-3, 3-0) on the year and are tied with Plano East for first place.

Lewisville was beating Plano for most of the game, and it even held a nine-point advantage as late as the fourth quarter. But two consecutive three-pointers by Plano's Mark Foster pulled the deficit to three. Following a three-point play by Eric Zastoupil, Plano had its first lead since early in the first quarter.

The teams exchanged leads with free throws until the regulation ended tied at 44-44. In overtime, Plano carried the momentum.

The Wildcats went on an 8-2 run in overtime to secure the win. Joseph Fulce scored seven of Plano's overtime points with his paint shots.

But Fulce, who finished with 15 points, wasn't as much of a problem for Lewisville in regulation. Brandon Ware led Plano with 17 points, 12 of which were from three-point territory. Defensively, however, the whole team gave Lewisville trouble.

"We extended the defense and sped up the game," Plano coach Tom Inman. "They flinched a little bit, and that caused some turnovers."

Turnovers at crucial times also hurt the Farmers, especially in the fourth quarter. Lewisville was called for traveling multiple times in the period.

"Sometimes you just have to ride through those things, but I don't think we got the benefit of some close calls," Lewisville coach Jimmy Roe said.

Roe said his team also suffered a setback when guard Aubrey Brown fouled out in the fourth quarter. Inman knew Brown had been a factor as well.

"Brown was who hurt us in the first half," Inman said. "He makes rebounds like a grown man." Lewisville and Plano were pretty even for most of the first half, as Lewisville shot 43 percent compared to Plano's 38 percent. Booker Woodfox scored 13 first-half points, mostly from inside.

"I felt like Booker had to earn his points," Inman said. "We put several different people on him. You can never stop Booker, but you try to contain him."

Marquell McDade's three-pointer in the third quarter gave Lewisville a nine-point lead for the first time, and it reached nine again in the fourth when Woodfox scored a bucket.

For the game, Lewisville shot 44 percent from the field compared to Plano's 41 percent.