#6 Wylie prevails

[injuredinmelee]

over #9 Clyde in Basketball tonight. I dont remember the final but it was tied at 41 at the end of the third before Wylie pulled away.

The Wylie girls demolished the other lady bulldogs.

[Adidas410s]

Wylie wins bout between Bulldogs
By Jason Weddle / Reporter-News Staff Writer
January 28, 2006

Two of the top heavyweights in the state traded blow after blow Friday night, before No. 6 Wylie landed a knockout punch to a beleaguered No. 9 Clyde team.

The teams headed into the final round of their bout dead even on the scorecard at 41, but Wylie was able to put the game away with a 12-7 fourth-quarter run that kept its District 4-3A record perfect with a 60-54 win over the district's other Bulldogs at a raucous Wylie Bulldog Gym.

''It is a huge win for us and our kids,'' Wylie coach Russell Perkins said.

The win gives Wylie a two-game cushion over Clyde, the team most picked to challenge Wylie for the district title, with only four games remaining in both team's regular season.

That win wouldn't have been possible without a clutch performance from Case Keenum, who carried Wylie on his back at times. Keenum finished the night with 24 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and an important win for his team, which would have been tied with Clyde in the standings with a loss.

''We did shoot the ball extremely well tonight, and I think that helped us, but we played our game'' Keenum said. ''We take those shots every week, they just fell tonight.''

Keenum scored from nearly all five positions, as he took over point guard duties at times and got some of his points battling in the paint at other times. Clyde's Jacob Agnew was able to keep up with Keenum for three quarters, but could only manage two of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter.

''I'm gonna tell you something, Case Keenum can take a game over whenever he wants to and I don't know if it matters sometimes,'' Clyde coach Jay Ray said. ''They've got a lot of playmakers, but Case Keenum is a special player and he makes a big difference every time you play them.''

Keenum and Agnew were matched up on one another for much of the game, but Perkins credited another of Wylie's defenders for shutting down Agnew down the stretch.

''His name is Michael Strong,'' Perkins said. ''Michael does a great job on whoever he is playing, and he got stuck on (Agnew) a little more in the fourth quarter.''

An energized Wylie team came out of the gates firing on all cylinders and before Clyde could react, it was down 12-4. The No. 9 team in the state proved its ranking by answering Wylie's opening run with a 12-0 run of its own to build a 16-12 advantage.

Those opening 10 minutes were a microcosm of what was to come, as the two teams traded leads for the remainder of the contest.

Wylie found itself down 34-26 following a Luke Hawk jumper midway through the third quarter, but a Strong layup on an inbounds pass from Keenum was the catalyst for a 13-7 run that tied the game heading into the final stanza.

Gary Edwards dropped in a layup on a Keenum assist for the first points of the final period to mark the final time Wylie would take the lead.

Clyde got to within one on a John Clifton putback, but Wylie began its final flurry of punches in this bout on its way to a late nine-point lead.

''I hope throughout our contest our depth kind of wore them down,'' Perkins said.

Clyde falls to third place in the district with the loss, but is still in little danger of missing the playoffs.

''We're 2-2, we're not out of any hunt whatsoever and we'll do our best to try to win a few,'' Ray said. ''We'd still like to get the district championship, but we are going to need some things to happen, but we really want to get in the playoffs and then make a run.''

Clyde showed Friday that making that run is likely, while Wylie kept its stranglehold on the district standings and proved it has the talent and savvy to embark on a playoff run of its own.