01:22 AM CST on Wednesday, January 26, 2005
By LUKE GILLIAM / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

PLANO – Plano West senior Michael Prince likely took his final shots against Plano on Tuesday night. He made them count.

Prince made all eight of his shots from the field, finishing with 23 points and nine rebounds, as Plano West beat Plano for the first time in three years, 61-50, at Plano West.

Plano West (13-12, 5-3 in District 8-5A) avenged a 23-point loss at Plano Dec. 21.

"I can't explain it. This is the best win since I've been here," Prince said. "We're a lot better team than we were earlier in the year."

Plano West maintained a comfortable lead most of the second half, shooting 60 percent for the game. When Plano (19-5, 6-2) threatened to build an early lead, Plano West responded with three consecutive 3-pointers.

"They've had our number for three years, and I think that weighed on our guys," Plano West coach Dave Piehler said. "That's the best we've played physically and, especially, mentally. We handled the few runs they made at us."

Prince led the charge offensively with an array of jumpers and spin moves through the lane. Defensively, Prince spearheaded the top of Plano West's 3-2 zone, which never allowed Plano to find a rhythm.

"It's a lot easier to play that zone with a lead," Piehler said. "That's one of our favorite defenses. We tried to play it the first time we played them, but we never had a lead."

Tom Heinemann and H.E. Neely scored 11 points apiece and accounted for five of Plano West's seven 3-pointers.

Joseph Fulce scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Mark Foster added 10 for Plano, which was without two of its best post players, Lawrence Mann and Eric Zastoupil.

Plano coach Tom Inman said his team was outplayed.

"They shot it well, and we didn't do a good job against their zone," Inman said.

Plano West didn't put the game away until late, hitting only seven of 16 free throws down the stretch. However, Plano never capitalized as it managed one field goal in the final three minutes.