02/08/2006
By JASON CHLAPEK, Staff writer

PLANO - Plano boys basketball team accomplished goal No. 1 Tuesday by clinching a playoff berth.

Now the Wildcats can seal the District 8-5A crown with a win at The Colony Friday. The teams meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday at The Colony.

Plano (20-8, 10-2 in 8-5A) leads second-place Plano East (19-7, 8-4) by two games. The teams meet Tuesday in the regular season finale.

The Wildcats were able to shake off a slow start with a 16-8 run in the second period to take a 24-14 halftime lead. Defense once again was the staple of Plano's success as it held Flower Mound to single-digit point totals in the first two periods and held all but one player to single-digit scoring totals.

Shawn Schepel was the lone Jaguar in double figures with a game-high 17 points. However, Plano was able to receive solid scoring from John Roberson and Eric Zastoupil, who scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.

A Plano East win in its home finale against Flower Mound still won't assure the Panthers of a playoff berth.

Although Plano East has a one-game lead on the three teams tied for third place, the Panthers do not have the head-to-head tiebreaker over any of them.

Plano East split the season series with Flower Mound Marcus (18-10, 7-5), Lewisville (19-10, 7-5) and Plano West (18-10, 7-5).

The Panthers used a 22-13 fourth period run to break past The Colony, 68-59, Tuesday. Kola Alade, Anthony Hill, Kevin Smith and John West combined for 63 of Plano East's 68 points. West turned in a game-high 21 points, while Alade scored 20, Hill scored 12 and Smith 10.

Plano West faces a must-win when it hosts Allen at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Wolves' Den.

The Wolves are involved in a three-way tie for third place and need a win or a Lewisville loss to stay in playoff contention. They close out the regular season Tuesday at Marcus.

Plano West fell into a must-win predicament Tuesday after a 70-68 loss to Lewisville. The Wolves lost a 15-point fourth period lead and were outscored, 29-12, in the final eight minutes.

With the win, Lewisville earned the season series sweep of Plano West. If the teams end in a tie for third place, Lewisville gets the playoff berth because of a head-to-head tiebreaker.

Sterling Melville scored a team-high 22 points for the Wolves, but the Farmers received 33 from Sheldon Brown.