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All hands on deck: Eagles' full cast goes 3-1 for silver title in Leander
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
A weekend spent down south for the Leander ISD Christmas Classic was the closest the Allen boys basketball team has come to featuring a full ensemble.
The result was a 3-1 run over the two-day tournament, culminating with a silver division championship for the Eagles.
"We had a lot of new faces out there and knew it was going to be rough at times," said Jeff McCullough, Allen head coach. "We also saw some flashes of what it could be. Overall, we're still not where we want to be but we've added some pieces of the puzzle and some guys stepped up and played well."
Senior Cameron Epps led the squad with 12 points while juniors Jamuni McNease, Jackie Davis and senior Joe Miller each scored eight.
Leading at the half, 34-31, the Eagles brushed away McCallum with a 16-9 third quarter to seal the silver division championship.
"Our kids started playing together and trusting each other a bit more," McCullough said. "The bench was really involved and it was just a big team effort ... A lot of guys got involved and others are starting to step up and play."
Such was the case one game earlier when junior Blake Williams, who has missed roughly one month of the season due to an ankle injury, poured in a team-high 14 points to pace a 58-39 blowout of Cedar Park.
Sophomore Olin Carter chipped in 11 points while junior Myron Fisher scored nine in an outing that saw Allen open up a 15-5 lead after one quarter and never look back.
It was a luxury the Eagles weren't afforded upon first arriving in Leander for pool play on Friday. That stretch, ironically enough, produced more difficult competition than bracket play as Allen split outings against Killeen Shoemaker and Round Rock Cedar Ridge.
The Eagles got off on the right foot in besting Shoemaker, 51-48, a victory that was especially gratifying for an Allen team that was drubbed by the Wolves, 67-50, one month prior at the Mansfield ISD Spring Creek Classic.
Friday's rematch was a different story, with Allen separating itself with a 19-12 advantage in the third quarter for a 45-41 lead. Epps led the Eagles with 14 points while Carter scored 13.
The game was notable in that it also marked the season debut for junior Tay Evans, who scored six points in a short-lived stint that saw the wing tweak a shoulder injury sustained from football.
It ended Evans' run in the tournament prematurely, with McCullough noting that the team would have a better idea by the end of the week if there was any severity to the injury.
Evans would have been vital one game later though, as Cedar Ridge rode a 22-6 first quarter to cruise past Allen, 57-39.
"Cedar Ridge kind of exposed us for what we were at the time, which was inconsistent and a little rough around the edges," McCullough said. "They're an athletic team and they can do a lot of things that gave us trouble."
Epps again led the squad with 12 points while sophomore Bobby Evans, another player still being worked into the mix, chipped in 10 points in the loss.
Bobby, brother Tay, Davis and Williams were among the players to receive their first sustained run with the team, as Allen can now finally look ahead towards District 10-5A play with all hands on deck.
"With all of them out there, we can play a lot of different ways," McCullough said. "Earlier we were limited with our depth and overall depth but with the additions of Jackie, Tay, and Bobby we become a more physical team that can rebound.
"We've got more of an attitude with those guys on the floor."
The tournament run was enough to improve Allen to 9-10 on the year, with a chance at .500 on the line Friday at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts Flower Mound.
Lady Eagles take second in Oklahoma
The Allen girls basketball team didn't let its stay in Ardmore, Okla. go to waste, capturing second place in the Ardmore Holiday Festival Tournament.
All that stood between the Lady Eagles and a tourney title was Ark.-based Fort Smith Northside, which exploded for 43 points in the second and third quarters to turn away Allen for a 66-49 win in Saturday's tournament final.
Allen led after one quarter, 13-9, found itself on the lower end of a 30-24 score at halftime with Northside unwilling to relent in the second half. Sophomore McKenzie Martin led all scorers with 16 points while senior Kaitlyn Packett added 12.
The Lady Eagles earned a spot in said championship match after cruising to a pair of double-digit wins over Durant (68-40) and Norman (59-46).
On the weekend, Martin led the team with 12.7 points per contest while junior Anna Horowitz posted 7.7.
Allen commences District 10-5A play Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Plano East.
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