Sports > Schools
Boys basketball: Cowboys punch playoff ticket
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
Having lost by 20 points Feb. 8 against state-ranked Hebron (No. 2), Coppell's boys basketball team needed not only a confidence booster, but a win over second-place Flower Mound to secure a playoff spot of their own.
The Cowboys did just that.
Coppell cruised past the Jaguars, putting together one of its most complete performances in a 65-55 victory, including surging to a 35-14 lead at halftime.
The win put Coppell in the playoffs, where they faced Irving MacArthur Tuesday at R.L. Turner (results not available as of press time). Had the Cowboys lost to the Jaguars, they would have been in a three-way tie for third and the final two playoff spots with Lewisville and Marcus (the Farmers went on to beat the Marauders in a play-in game Friday for the final postseason berth).
"We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different areas," said Kit Pehl, Coppell head coach. "And we shot the ball really well, which was great to see because that's been our Achilles' heel at times. Most of our offense came against the zone.
"It was a confidence builder and a big win against a good team that is having a record season."
Landon Goesling led the offense with 20 points, while Josh Feitl scored 16 and Cody Carver had 11.
"Landon and Josh were outstanding on offense," Pehl said. "They had great games."
While the Cowboys picked up their offensive performance, it was the defense that made the biggest difference.
"We were stifling," Pehl said. "It was a total team effort and we really got after them. Cody Carver and Walter Munnings in particular were terrific because [Flower Mound] had a couple of guys who really hurt us in the first game. It seemed like they were everywhere on the court."
In the first round, Coppell had to prepare for a MacArthur team with a potent offense.
"They have two really good players we have to focus on," Pehl said. "They have a great point guard and a great small forward who can both really shoot it and play one-on-one."
Coppell returns to the postseason for the fifth consecutive season, including advancing to the area round in each of the past two years. However, little experience remains from those squads.
The Cowboys did just that.
Coppell cruised past the Jaguars, putting together one of its most complete performances in a 65-55 victory, including surging to a 35-14 lead at halftime.
The win put Coppell in the playoffs, where they faced Irving MacArthur Tuesday at R.L. Turner (results not available as of press time). Had the Cowboys lost to the Jaguars, they would have been in a three-way tie for third and the final two playoff spots with Lewisville and Marcus (the Farmers went on to beat the Marauders in a play-in game Friday for the final postseason berth).
"We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different areas," said Kit Pehl, Coppell head coach. "And we shot the ball really well, which was great to see because that's been our Achilles' heel at times. Most of our offense came against the zone.
"It was a confidence builder and a big win against a good team that is having a record season."
Landon Goesling led the offense with 20 points, while Josh Feitl scored 16 and Cody Carver had 11.
"Landon and Josh were outstanding on offense," Pehl said. "They had great games."
While the Cowboys picked up their offensive performance, it was the defense that made the biggest difference.
"We were stifling," Pehl said. "It was a total team effort and we really got after them. Cody Carver and Walter Munnings in particular were terrific because [Flower Mound] had a couple of guys who really hurt us in the first game. It seemed like they were everywhere on the court."
In the first round, Coppell had to prepare for a MacArthur team with a potent offense.
"They have two really good players we have to focus on," Pehl said. "They have a great point guard and a great small forward who can both really shoot it and play one-on-one."
Coppell returns to the postseason for the fifth consecutive season, including advancing to the area round in each of the past two years. However, little experience remains from those squads.
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