Wednesday, January 17, 2007
By Kevin Hageland, Staff Writer / Plano Star

PLANO - If both Plano (4-2) and Plano East (4-2) are able to advance to the playoffs, each team should be prepared for the postseason atmosphere after a back-and-forth affair Tuesday night in front of a raucous crowd at East.

The game featured nine ties and 14 lead changes, before Plano was able to pull away late in the fourth quarter and secure a 56-48 victory.

“Plano is experienced; they’ve been through this before,” said Doug Bleadorn, East head coach. “Tonight our team learned that we have to value the ball and execute on each possession. This was a good learning experience for us and hopefully we’ll do better next time.”

The Panthers went down a man early in the game when senior Charlie Howard was forced to leave the game after suffering a gash under his left eye. He would eventually return. East was undeterred though, and opened up an early 6-2 lead. That advantage would be the largest either team enjoyed until late in the fourth quarter.

Down by four points, Plano battled right back and took the lead when senior John Roberson buried a three-pointer with 3:49 left in the first quarter to put the Wildcats up 7-6.

In a scene that appeared to duplicate itself throughout the game, East answered right back when junior Quincy Diggs drained a three on the next possession to put the Panthers back on top by two points.

At the end of a first quarter that featured six lead changes and two ties, the defending state champions clung to a one-point edge, 15-14.

“Our goal throughout the season has been to win the first quarter,” said Tom Inman, Plano head coach. “Then, we are usually able to do what we want after that.”

That wouldn’t be the case Tuesday night though as the Wildcats’ offense stalled in the second quarter. East junior Kevin Smith got things started in the second quarter when he was fouled while still making an off-balance bank shot. Though Smith would miss the ensuing free throw attempt, his bucket gave the Panthers the lead once more.

A little over a minute later though, Plano would regain the advantage, 19-18, when Roberson made an open shot that had Bleadorn muttering, “He’s going to get 40 tonight.”

The Panthers would manage the next five points though to grab a 23-19 lead. It appeared as though East would go into the locker room up by at least four points before a late steal by Plano senior Landon Skinner, who ran the floor and made a lay-in with one second remaining in the second quarter.

On the evening, Skinner had six points and seven rebounds. The two teams combined for just 15 points in the second quarter, as East led, 23-21, at the half.

“Our team played well at times tonight, especially defensively,” Bleadorn said. “But we weren’t able to make our open shots. When you look at the shooting percentages, this is going to be one of our lower outputs this season.”

It was just 15 seconds into the second half before another lead change occurred as Plano senior Greg Harrell grabbed a rebound, one of five on the night, and passed the ball to Roberson, who popped in a three-pointer.

After yet another tie, this time at 27-27, Smith put the Panthers up by two with a strong post-up move and basket with 5:01 left in the third. Smith scored 11 points and had a team-high seven rebounds in the game.

The Panthers extended their lead to three points later in the period before Plano junior Reggie Britton hit a circus lay-in with 1:58 left to pull the Wildcats to within 32-31. Against the Panthers, Britton had eight points.

By the end of the quarter though, East had opened up another four-point lead, 37-33.

Whereas back-and-forth play dominated the first three quarters, the fourth would be all about free throws; at least for Plano that is. The Wildcats had 22 shots from the charity stripe as opposed to just six for the Panthers in the decisive quarter.

Early in the fourth, Plano sophomore Rex Burkhead began to take over the game, drilling a three, getting a rebound and making a lay-up as the Wildcats scored six of the first eight points to tie the game 39-39.

That run also forced East to call their first timeout of the game with 5:58 remaining in the fourth quarter. Burkhead had 14 points and three rebounds versus the Panthers.

“I am really proud of our guys tonight, especially Greg and Rex,” Inman said. “We got some big offensive rebounds tonight, which other teams had been getting on us earlier in the season.”

East senior Deba Egharevba muscled his way into the lane for a basket to tie the score, 43-43, with 3:26 left in the contest. But from there, it would be all Plano.

The Wildcats went on a 10-1 run, almost entirely on free throws, over the next two minutes, to put the game away. In the fourth quarter, Plano made 18-of-22 free throws, while East was only 3-for-6, including two misses on the front end of a one-and-one.

The run gave Plano a 53-44 lead, which was the first time either team was able to put together a lead of larger than four points. Thanks in part to Roberson’s game-high 23 points; the Wildcats won the game, 56-48.

“A few game ago we were 2-2 in district, staring down the barrel,” Inman said. “Now, we’re 4-2 and that feels a lot better. This was a big win for us.”

As a result of this game, Plano and East, along with Plano West are in a three-way tie for second place in District 9-5A. All three squads are chasing Berkner, which stands atop the district at 5-1.

“A home loss hurts a lot more than a road loss, but we are not going to just pack up the tent. We will redouble our efforts,” Bleadorn said. “Our team knew going in that this district would be a dogfight the whole way.”