Game of the night
GRAND PRAIRIE — The South Grand Prairie girls basketball team wanted to avoid a four-way tie for first place at all costs.
So SGP went out and had one of its most dominant defensive performances of the season and won the District 8-6A title outright.
South Grand Prairie’s stifling defense forced 24 turnovers and allowed just six made field goals to beat Arlington Martin 28-20 on Tuesday in the final game of the regular season. SGP (21-12, 12-2) entered Tuesday one game ahead of Martin, Arlington Bowie and Arlington Lamar but didn’t have to share the district championship after sweeping Martin in district play.
“It always feels good to be the champion of something,” South Grand Prairie coach Brion Raven said. “Being the champion of District 8-6A is a great accomplishment for our team, and now hopefully we can take some of this momentum into the playoffs.”
High School Sports
South Grand Prairie has only one senior on its roster, and it didn’t return any starters from last season, but it will be 8-6A’s top seed in the 6A Division I playoff bracket and will open the playoffs against Richardson on Monday. Martin (12-19, 10-4) will be the No. 2 seed in Division I, and Bowie and Lamar will compete in the 6A Division II playoffs.
SGP likes to mix up its defense, alternating between pressing, zone and man-to-man. It led 12-8 at halftime and 16-13 going into the fourth quarter while holding Martin below 30 points for the second time this season.
“We were relatively solid,” Raven said. “We’ve been undisciplined at times, and other times we’ve been pretty good. But today we were more disciplined, and our offense wasn’t really clicking, so our defense really carried the day for us.”
An acrobatic shot by Martin’s Naariah Hollimon cut SGP’s lead to 22-19, but Pulkera Ray made two free throws with 50.5 seconds left to give South Grand Prairie a 24-19 lead. SGP was just 9-for-16 from the free throw line for the game but went 6-for-8 in the final minute, including a pair of makes by Payton Garrett with 12.9 seconds left.
Janae Johnson led SGP with eight points, and Hollimon and Kenzley Sanchez scored eight apiece for Martin. It has still been a successful turnaround for Martin, which overcame an 0-12 start to win 12 of its final 19 regular-season games.
— Greg Riddle
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WAXAHACHIE — Consider step one for Kennedale (26-5, 11-0) accomplished.
Head coach Doug Groff says his team can’t skip steps if they want a repeat of last season’s run to the 4A Division II state championship. The first major hurdle on that journey was capturing the District 12 crown, 55-46, over Life Waxahachie (26-6, 8-2) on Tuesday night.
Tuesday night was the first time Kennedale started its preferred starting lineup all season due to injury concerns, most recently that of second-leading scorer Jacoby Lovings, who missed most of the last month.
The rust showed early with both Kennedale and Life Waxahachie combining for 14 turnovers in the opening period. In the first period, senior leading scorer Trey Smith scored seven of Kennedale’s nine points by himself.
“It’s a fight every time we come [to Waxahachie], and we expect it to come down to the wire every time. They’re a great defensive team,” Groff said.
With Smith in foul trouble, the senior guard sat for almost the entire second period while Life took a three-point lead into halftime.
The second half was when the switch flipped for the reigning 4A Division II champions with its two senior leaders, Smith and Lovings, combining for 15 points in the third period with a collection of off-balance shots inside the lane, something Life Waxahachie had prevented defensively up to that point. Life Waxahachie’s Khy’re McChriston hit a major and-one to regain the lead for Life just before the third period expired.
But in the end, Kennedale’s scoring tandem of Smith and Lovings took over in the final period, combining for 15 points, cemented with late free throws from Lovings to ice the game. Smith finished with a game-high 24 points and Lovings with 13, all coming in the second half. Ramiro Morin finished with team-high 13 points for Life Waxahachie.
“They’re winners,” Groff said. “They know how to win, and as we talk about, sometimes you just gotta find a way to win when you’re not at your best, and I don’t think we were at our best tonight. A lot has to do with what Life was doing to us.
“As we say, it’s kind of like a ladder. There’s different rungs on a ladder. Each step is a step to your goal. And as we tell them, you can’t fall up a ladder. You can only fall down, so you can’t skip a step, because you could slip.”
The win secures the district crown for Kennedale with two games to go in the regular season after sweeping the season series against second-place Life Waxahachie.
— Ishmael Johnson
District champs: See photos from Kennedale’s title-clinching win over Life Waxahachie
View GalleryTuesday’s top performersBoys
Sawyer Dotson, Birdville: The Lipscomb University signee scored 30 points as the state’s seventh-ranked 5A team beat Argyle 56-50 and improved to 26-4 on the season and to 8-1 in district play. Birdville is looking for another long playoff run after it was the Class 5A Division I state runner-up last season.
Cadarian Urune-Williams, Allen: He scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half as Allen beat state No. 22-ranked Plano East 60-53, leaving the teams tied for first in District 6-6A.
Jeremy Nyakundi, Arlington Martin: He scored 17 points to pace five Martin players in double figures in a 67-60 win over South Grand Prairie, ranked No. 16 in the state in 6A. SGP was coming off a 52-49 win Friday against state No. 17-ranked Grand Prairie, which had put the teams in a tie for first in District 8-6A.
DJ Majors, Denton Guyer: He scored 24 points and made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in a 46-44 win over Denton Braswell.
Bryant Robinson, Frisco Liberty: A three-star recruit in football, Robinson also excels in basketball and scored 27 points in a 47-42 win over The Colony.
Ashton Minor, North Garland: He scored 27 points in a 64-51 win against Garland.
Syncere Anderson, Lake Highlands: He had 20 points and six steals in a 96-34 blowout against Irving. Lake Highlands leads District 7-6A by one game over Richardson Pearce, and those two teams face each other Friday. Uyiosa Osawemwenze added 15 points and nine rebounds in Lake Highlands’ win.
Noah Santoro, Rockwall: He scored 24 points to lead Rockwall to a 68-56 win against North Forney. Rockwall leads District 10-6A by one game over Tyler Legacy and Royse City with two games remaining.
Mason Maxfield, Seagoville: He had 21 points and eight rebounds and was 8-for-8 at the free throw line in a 74-69 win over Woodrow Wilson.
Ja’Meir Hayfort and Landry Ferguson, John Paul II: They each scored 26 points in a 75-62 win over Bishop Lynch that completed an undefeated district season.
Girls
Arianna Robinson, Plano East: The sophomore prodigy continued her scoring onslaught, finishing with 34 points as the state’s 15th-ranked 6A team beat Allen 61-42 to finish 16-0 in District 6-6A. Robinson has scored 28, 32, 34 and 34 points in her last four games, and Tuesday she helped Plano East (28-7 overall) extend its winning streak to 14 games. Robinson was The Dallas Morning News All-Area Player of the Year as a freshman last season and is averaging 26.3 points and 7.7 rebounds this season.
Trinity Thompson, Sachse: She scored 33 points to lead Sachse to a 52-37 win over Rowlett.
Kosi Agudiegwu, McKinney Boyd: She had 28 points and 22 rebounds in a 64-55 win over Princeton. It was Boyd’s 20th win of the season, the most it has had in nearly 12-plus years.
Kayden Heberle, Frisco Reedy: She scored 10 of her team-high 15 points in the second half in a 41-40 win over Highland Park, ranked No. 7 in the Dallas area. Ellington Heis scored 24 for Highland Park, including 19 over the second and third quarters, but Reedy outscored Highland Park 27-12 in the second half to rally from a 28-14 halftime deficit.
Ma’Kayla Carr, Richardson: She scored 26 points in a 67-19 rout of Irving MacArthur.
Abbi Tillson, McKinney: She scored 24 points in a 65-50 win over Prosper Rock Hill, which entered Tuesday tied for second place in District 6-6A.
Payton Jones, Frisco Memorial: She scored a game-high 14 points as Memorial beat Frisco 64-29 to wrap up the outright District 11-5A title.
Bisola Arowolo, Frisco Emerson: She scored 24 points in a 78-38 rout of Frisco Liberty as Emerson finished third in District 11-5A. Liberty finished fourth and made the playoffs.
Quanesha Horn, Hurst L.D. Bell: She scored 22 points in a 61-39 victory against Euless Trinity.
Ivy Young, Denton Braswell: She scored a game-high 12 points as the state’s 16th-ranked 6A team beat Denton Guyer 38-30 to win the District 5-6A title with a 13-1 record.
Stat sheet26
Consecutive wins for the Prosper Richland girls after a 54-21 win over Sanger to close out the regular season and a 14-0 district record.
14
Made 3-pointers by the Richardson Pearce boys in 28 attempts as they beat Richardson Berkner 70-43 to clinch a playoff berth and earn their 26th win of the season.
8-1
Record for the Jesuit boys in the last nine games after they clinched a playoff berth with a 62-38 win against Irving Nimitz. Jesuit shot 51% from the field and made nine 3-pointers.
60
Points scored in the first half by the Frisco Wakeland boys in a 103-69 win over Carrollton R.L. Turner.
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