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Defining run: Carrollton Newman Smith surges past West Mesquite in showdown for 10-4A top spot
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
West Mesquite showed it could take a punch and bounce back in Tuesday's showdown for first place with Carrollton Newman Smith.
What the Wranglers could not overcome, however, was a second haymaker landed by the Trojans and that proved to be the difference in a 74-70 victory at West Mesquite High School.
West Mesquite (7-3 in 10-4A) not only missed out on a chance to move into a tie for first place, but they fell two games off the pace of Newman Smith (9-1), who put themselves firmly in the driver's seat for the district title with just two weeks left in the regular season.
Walter Rickett's putback and Camryn Cole's 3-pointer to make it 39-33 at halftime seemed innocent enough, but it was only the beginning.
Newman Smith scored the first 12 points of the second half, with Cole adding another trey to cap a 17-0 run that gave them a 45-39 lead just minutes into the third quarter.
The Trojans built the advantage to as large as 12 from that point, but West Mesquite refused to go away. They made several runs, including a late 9-2 spurt that got them back to within 72-67 on a layup by Jalen Etienne with 1:03 left. But despite a couple of Newman Smith turnovers, they were unable to get any closer until there was less than one second left on the clock.
"We battled the entire game," West Mesquite head coach Todd Brewer said. "We pushed hard at the end and had some good shots, some good chances to get back in it, it just didn't happen."
The Trojans controlled the rebounding battle from the start, finishing with a 37-28 edge on the glass. They also heated up as the game went on, shooting 62.5 percent from the floor in the second half.
But the biggest difference might have been their ability to slow down Braylon Rayson, the Wranglers' leading scorer.
Rayson hit four treys, some from far beyond the arc, as part of an 18-point first half. But Newman Smith turned up the pressure, often with double teams in the second, and Rayson was held to just seven points in the final two quarters, five of which came from the free throw line.
In addition to Rayson's 25 points, Nate Davis had a big game for the Wranglers with 18 points, while Etienne and Jordan Johnson each added 11.
Stephen Spurlock had 19 points to lead the Trojans. Darion Brown scored 18, Cole had 16 and Rickett added 15 as that quartet combined for all but six of the team's points.
West Mesquite had revenge on its mind and the crowd on its side from the opening tip, but Newman Smith was unphased. Brown scored on a layup on the opening possession, Spurlock knocked down a 3-pointer and Cole followed with a three-point play to give them an 8-0 lead just 67 seconds into the contest.
The Trojans still led 17-8 when Davis got free in transition for a dunk that energized West Mesquite. After a pair of free throws by Etienne, Davis added another jam and then knocked down a jumper to get to within 17-16 at the end of the first quarter.
Brown converted a turnover into a three-point play to push the lead back to four for Newman Smith to start the second period, but Rayson took over from there, as he and Johnson combined to score all of the team's points in a 15-2 run that gave them a 31-22 lead.
Everything seemed to be going West Mesquite's way when Rayson's fourth trey of the half made it 38-26, but Newman Smith was never rattled and countered with the biggest punch of the night.
The Wranglers, at 7-3, fall back into a tie for second place with Highland Park and they are just one game ahead of both Poteet and North Forney with two weeks remaining. But West Mesquite, which advanced to the regional tournament last year, likes the position they are in and they are remaining confident for the stretch run.
"I think we still have a real good shot at second place, and in this district, you never know, Newman Smith still has some tough games, so anything can happen," Brewer said. "We are going to get everybody's best shot every game, so we need to expect it to be a battle and come out ready to give 100 percent."
The Trojans are feeling much more comfortable, and while they still have four games to play, they could all but wrap up at least a share of the 10-4A title with a win on Friday against Highland Park.
10-4A GIRLS BASKETBALL: Newman Smith clinches share of district crown with second win over Wranglers
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