Princeton junior Julius Johnson finished with 15 points in a 58-48 loss to Plano East on Jan. 13. Photo by Oladipo Awowale / C&S Media
By David Wolman
The first half of District 6-6A play concluded last Friday evening for the Princeton boys basketball team, and the Panthers are hopeful they can carry momentum from a dominant 66-40 home win over Prosper Rock Hill into the remainder of the regular season.
Julius Johnson led the Panthers in scoring with 17 points, followed by eight from Jordan Mosley. Twelve players scored for Princeton in the blowout win.
“I feel like these close games are starting to pay off,” head coach Eric Lockman said. “I felt like we played at a speed and pace that benefits our strengths. Everyone has zoned us up because we’ve struggled to knock down the open 3. We attacked it and beat Rock Hill in transition.”
The victory improved Princeton to 12-12 overall and 3-5 in district play, two games behind Plano West (5-3) for the fourth and final playoff spot.
Earlier in the week, Princeton faced a tougher test.
The Panthers matched every scoring run by Plano East through the first three quarters of a Jan. 13 road game at Archie McAfee Gymnasium. However, despite a strong third quarter rally that tied the game at 39-39, Princeton was unable to close the deal. Plano East outscored Princeton 19-8 in the fourth quarter to secure a 58-48 victory.
Plano East led 10-8 at the end of the first quarter and 24-20 at halftime.
Johnson led Princeton with a game-high 15 points. Aveion Dixon added seven points, while DJ McCoy and Marcus Flowers each scored six.
On the girls’ side, Princeton entered last week riding one of its most successful stretches of the season, highlighted by a 51-37 road win over Plano West.
Unfortunately for the Lady Panthers, that momentum did not carry over. Princeton dropped a 62-37 road game to Plano East before falling 68-36 at Prosper Rock Hill.
Against Rock Hill, Princeton was held to nine points in the first half. The Lady Blue Hawks led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter and 32-9 at halftime.
Chandler Evans scored 11 points to lead Princeton, followed by 10 from Rayleigh Williams. The Lady Panthers struggled to contain Rock Hill’s Sofia Reed and Kenna Kucholtz, who combined for 34 points, with Reed scoring 18 and Kucholtz adding 16.
In the loss to Plano East, Princeton trailed by just eight points, 18-10, at the end of the first quarter. However, a 23-3 scoring run by Plano East in the second quarter proved decisive. Plano East led 41-13 at halftime and 54-31 at the end of the third quarter.
Williams scored 11 points and Evans added 10 to pace Princeton (7-17, 2-8). Reyna Martin contributed five points.
Princeton is scheduled to host McKinney on Friday before traveling to McKinney next Tuesday. The girls’ games are set to tip off at 5:30 p.m., followed by the boys’ games at 7 p.m.
“I believe this win against Rock Hill is going to carry some momentum into this week,” Lockman said. “I would not be surprised if we win both of these. We are healthy, confident and have Jordan Mosley at 80 percent. It should be fun.”