Duncanville Panthers

Cooley · December 31, 2007

Skipped the local tournaments this weekend to compete in S. Carolina. Will play tomorrow night for the championship. The Panthers have upended many of the countries best and continues to get better.

Not mentioned in the attached Mytle Beach article is the transfer of top 6-7 sophomore Julian Washburn from Dallas Kimball. Washburn should be eligible in a week.

Props to the boys of Duncanville, Tx (The City of Champions)

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/sports/story/297903.html

Cooley · December 31, 2007

Texas Holds Its Own against Out-of-State Foes

December 30, 2007

Rob Harman

In recent years, Texas schools have gotten more opportunities to test their basketball skills against highly-regarded out-of-state competition. And 2007 has been a banner year.

* At the Campbell Center, Houston area teams posted a 9-1 record against national teams at the Houston vs. The Nation national basketball invitational. On Saturday night, Houston Yates (12-2) posted a 66-60 win over St. Patrick of Elizabeth, N.J., ranked No. 1 nationally by ESPN and No. 3 by USA Today.

* At Mytle Beach, S.C., Duncanville (18-1), ranked No. 2 in USA Today's Super 25, defended its lofty ranking by defeating Monsignor Pace (Fla.), 67-61, to earn a berth in the finals of the Beach Ball Classic. Duncanville will play Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

* In Fort Worth, North Crowley (20-1) cruised past Monroe (La.) Carroll, 72-60 in the finals of the 50th annual Whataburger Tournament.

Here's a quick look at some of the top tournaments:

Houston Vs. The Nation

Kingwood (14-5) defeated Hastings (15-5) for the Texas Championship, 47-38. Nick James and Tevin Svihovec split 24 points for Kngwood. Lionel Foster had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Hastings.

On Friday night, Cy Springs (20-2), fresh off its win at the Houston Jaycees tournament, gave Montverde Academy (Fla.) its first loss in two years, 65-59. Montverde was ranked No. 2 in the nation by ESPN. Phillip McDonald and Erick Williams led Cy Springs with 26 and 23 points respectively. Williams came back with 28 points in Cy Springs' 67-63 win over St. Thomas on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, Klein Collins (16-3) used key free throws late to edge Montverde, 45-43.

Whataburger Invitational

North Crowley star Willie Warren scored 12 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, including hitting six free throws in the final 1:43, as the Panthers defeated Monroe, 72-60, for the Orange (Big School) championship. It was North Crowley's second win over Monroe, beating the Louisiana power, 69-62, in the finals of the Fayetteville, Ark., tournament in early December.

Fort Worth Dunbar (17-2) outscored defending champ Plano West, 108-97, in the third-place game. Darious Jones led Dunbar with 33 points. Jackson Jeffcoat had 29 points and 14 rebounds for West.

In the White (4A) division, Hebron (15-5) used 37 points by Trey Anderson in a 99-96 win over Fort Worth Southwest (15-4). In the Blue (Small School) division, MVP Calvin Redfearn scored 21 points to lead Ponder (20-2) past Fort Worth Nolan (13-5), 48-44.

Beach Ball Classic

In South Carolina, Duncanville, Texas' top-ranked team, received 20 points from both Shawn Williams and Roger Franklin to earn its berth in Monday's finals with a 67-61 win over Monsignor Pace (Fla.).

Duncanville's only loss this season came against Oak Hill Academy (Va.), 78-77, at the inaugural Dallas DunkFest in early December.

Dallas Coca-Cola Tournament

No out-of-state teams here, but Dallas area teams made up for it with a sterling shooting display. Kimball (13-6) hit 18 3-pointers in a 81-56 win over Skyline for the championship of the 65th annual tournament. MVP London Giles hit eight of the 3s and finished with 27 points.

Highland Park (16-3), which suffered through 12 3-points from Kimball in the semifinals, holed off for a 51-48 win over Mesquite Horn in the third-place game. Horn star Quincy Acy led all scorers with 16 points.

Edited December 31, 2007 by Cooley