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Missed opportunities: Free throws cost Lions in district opener
BY Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
A playoff-level atmosphere surrounded the McKinney-Plano West boys basketball district opener Friday night.
At the end of the high-scoring, physical affair, the Wolves (1-0) were left standing, 91-80.
"This district, it's going to be a dog fight every night," said Wes Watson, McKinney head coach. "I loved our effort. Our effort is always there, but we've got to execute some things better. We missed too many free throws. You're not going to beat good teams on the road doing that. The stuff we struggled with was correctable."
"That was a heck of a game," said Anthony Morgan, West head coach. "It was a fun atmosphere; it was like a playoff game. We're fortunate to get a win here at home and that's the way to keep yourself in the playoff hunt, which is every single game in this district. It's going to be a war every night."
The packed, vocal crowd was treated to a high-octane game.
Senior Jonathan Shannon was McKinney's top scorer with 29 points, followed by 18 from senior Raynell Denny, 15 from senior Connor Fuentes and 10 from junior Remington Edwards.
"Denny was off to a tremendous start," Watson said. "He kept battling and kept running the floor well. He's been a great player for us all season."
West sophomore DJ Hogg was the game's leading scorer with 31. Also contributing for the Wolves were sophomore Soso Jamabo and junior Tre Anderson, who scored 19 and 15, respectively.
"With Hogg getting going and then Jamabo, those guys really picked it up tonight," Morgan said. "I'm very proud of them and the rest of the team for how we came out and were able to sustain what we needed to do."
Turnovers and missed shots plagued the Lions in the first quarter as the Wolves gradually built a 25-16 lead.
What had been a tight game morphed into a 17-point West advantage in the second quarter and the Wolves led at the break, 53-40.
"We expected they would have a pretty good first half, because of how we played," Watson said. "They're a good team, but our style isn't about knocking them out in the first two quarters. Our style is about wearing them out and making it a four-quarter game, but we didn't rebound and we didn't convert."
The Lions struggled from the charity stripe in the first half, making only 6-of-15 attempts.
The Lions opened the second half with a quick layup from Shannon and continued to surge, cutting the deficit to 10 two and a half minutes into the third.
The Lions and Wolves traded baskets for much of the remainder of the quarter.
"It was phenomenal," Morgan said. "It was back and forth. They got a dunk, then we came down and answered with a dunk. Then there's a three from them and then we get a three. It was constant back and forth. You can't ask for more from a fan standpoint, that type of excitement."
The Lions decreased the deficit to single digits when Jontrell Rocquemore made a jumper with a minute left before the fourth, cutting West's lead to 66-58. However, just like its first-half troubles, McKinney proved ineffective with its free throws, making only 2-of-7 in the third, putting them at 8-of-22 overall heading into the fourth in a 72-61 hole.
The teams mirrored each other once more to start the final frame as missed shots followed missed shots just as made layups and jumpers followed the other squad's layups and jumpers.
Shannon later banked a shot from downtown followed by a layup to cut it to 74-69.
"I'm really proud of Shannon," Watson said. "He's been in a shooting slump from the outside and tonight he knocks down four threes. We knew he would come around. When he starts knocking that shot down, there's nobody that can guard him."
With the game still at five inside the final three minutes, Hogg's layup off an inbound followed by a pair of free throws made it 82-73. With one minute remaining, West had climbed back up to a 10-point cushion and finished it out, 91-80.
"They showed some heart and some fire," Morgan said. "I'm proud of our boys."
Next up for West is a 7:30 p.m. home game Tuesday against Plano Senior while McKinney hosts Allen at the same time.
"Nothing's going to change with us," Watson said. "There's no adjusting. We're going to continue doing what we do; we're just going to do it better."
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