NateDawg39
02-01-2006, 05:12 PM
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Dunked
Eagles contain Ranchview’s dunk show to get 67-62 victory
Published Thursday, February 2, 2006
By Robert Morgan
The only time Decatur fans have trouble finding a place to sit at home basketball games is when rival Bridgeport comes to town, so some found it odd that Friday’s game against Carrollton Ranchview was played in front of a standing-room-only crowd.
The reasons were simple: Both teams enter the District 7-3A showdown unbeaten and the Wolves are popular with their spectacular dunks. The Eagles may have gone without a rim-rocking slam, but they came away with the only thing that mattered as they outscored Ranchview for a 67-62 victory.
After controlling the tempo of the game for most of the first half, Decatur held off two big rallies by a much bigger Ranchview squad. Led by standout post Wayne Bruton — a 6-foot-8 move-in from New Orleans — the Wolves bounced back from eight points down in the final two minutes of the first half to pull within one point at halftime.
Ranchview did it again late in the fourth period. DHS’s Eric Metts scored on a layup with 3:51 left in the game to put the Eagles up by nine points, but the Wolves were far from done. A pair of turnovers and missed free throws allowed RHS to go on an 11-4 run and get within four points with 54 seconds left to play.
Metts added a free throw with 38 seconds left but Ranchview kept on scoring. The visitors added three more baskets to cut the deficit to two points at 64-62 with 32 seconds left to play.
A quick foul put Metts back on the charity stripe where he could have made it a two possession game. The senior missed both attempts, but post Casey Selby pulled down the biggest offensive rebound of the game.
The Wolves were forced to foul again but this time Metts made both shots with 24 seconds to play to make it a 66-62 contest. He added one more with eight seconds on the clock to thwart Ranchview’s rally.
“Ranchview is the most athletic team we have played all year. We had to play our best game of the year, and we did,” DHS coach Joe Berry said. “They have played some of the tougher Dallas schools this year and beat them, so we knew we had our hands full against the big ol’ guys.”
The win gave Decatur sole possession of first place at 5-0 and 18-8 overall. RHS slipped to 4-1 and 17-8.
Decatur was in control through the first period. A pair of dunks by Ranchview were matched by some crafty outside shooting by BHS guard Moore.
Moore helped keep his team in the game with nine points in the opening frame. Ryan Spence and Selby also scored inside the paint to help build a 19-12 lead. Ranchview made noise late in the frame when David Kyles and Bruton outscored DHS 8-2 in the last 1:55 to pull within one point, 21-20.
The Eagles pushed the lead back to eight points midway through the second quarter. Baskets by Moore and Metts and a three-pointer by Colby White put the locals back ahead 30-22.
The Wolves, however had their late run to take a 31-30 lead with 1:13 left in the half. Metts had the last say when he buried a pair of free throws to give Decatur a 32-31 edge at the break.
The Eagles took their biggest lead of the game in the third period. Five points by Selby and a pair of treys by Moore and Metts put DHS ahead 50-30. The defensive work of Chris Hanlon, Clif Cooper and Jeremy Jackson were crucial in the 13-0 run that gave DHS the lead to hold off Ranchview in the final minute of the game.
Moore led all scorers with 20 points. Metts added 13 points of his own, while Selby added 10. Also scoring were Spence with six points, Cooper with five and Justin Ellison, Hanlon and Kolby Williams with two each.
Dunked
Eagles contain Ranchview’s dunk show to get 67-62 victory
Published Thursday, February 2, 2006
By Robert Morgan
The only time Decatur fans have trouble finding a place to sit at home basketball games is when rival Bridgeport comes to town, so some found it odd that Friday’s game against Carrollton Ranchview was played in front of a standing-room-only crowd.
The reasons were simple: Both teams enter the District 7-3A showdown unbeaten and the Wolves are popular with their spectacular dunks. The Eagles may have gone without a rim-rocking slam, but they came away with the only thing that mattered as they outscored Ranchview for a 67-62 victory.
After controlling the tempo of the game for most of the first half, Decatur held off two big rallies by a much bigger Ranchview squad. Led by standout post Wayne Bruton — a 6-foot-8 move-in from New Orleans — the Wolves bounced back from eight points down in the final two minutes of the first half to pull within one point at halftime.
Ranchview did it again late in the fourth period. DHS’s Eric Metts scored on a layup with 3:51 left in the game to put the Eagles up by nine points, but the Wolves were far from done. A pair of turnovers and missed free throws allowed RHS to go on an 11-4 run and get within four points with 54 seconds left to play.
Metts added a free throw with 38 seconds left but Ranchview kept on scoring. The visitors added three more baskets to cut the deficit to two points at 64-62 with 32 seconds left to play.
A quick foul put Metts back on the charity stripe where he could have made it a two possession game. The senior missed both attempts, but post Casey Selby pulled down the biggest offensive rebound of the game.
The Wolves were forced to foul again but this time Metts made both shots with 24 seconds to play to make it a 66-62 contest. He added one more with eight seconds on the clock to thwart Ranchview’s rally.
“Ranchview is the most athletic team we have played all year. We had to play our best game of the year, and we did,” DHS coach Joe Berry said. “They have played some of the tougher Dallas schools this year and beat them, so we knew we had our hands full against the big ol’ guys.”
The win gave Decatur sole possession of first place at 5-0 and 18-8 overall. RHS slipped to 4-1 and 17-8.
Decatur was in control through the first period. A pair of dunks by Ranchview were matched by some crafty outside shooting by BHS guard Moore.
Moore helped keep his team in the game with nine points in the opening frame. Ryan Spence and Selby also scored inside the paint to help build a 19-12 lead. Ranchview made noise late in the frame when David Kyles and Bruton outscored DHS 8-2 in the last 1:55 to pull within one point, 21-20.
The Eagles pushed the lead back to eight points midway through the second quarter. Baskets by Moore and Metts and a three-pointer by Colby White put the locals back ahead 30-22.
The Wolves, however had their late run to take a 31-30 lead with 1:13 left in the half. Metts had the last say when he buried a pair of free throws to give Decatur a 32-31 edge at the break.
The Eagles took their biggest lead of the game in the third period. Five points by Selby and a pair of treys by Moore and Metts put DHS ahead 50-30. The defensive work of Chris Hanlon, Clif Cooper and Jeremy Jackson were crucial in the 13-0 run that gave DHS the lead to hold off Ranchview in the final minute of the game.
Moore led all scorers with 20 points. Metts added 13 points of his own, while Selby added 10. Also scoring were Spence with six points, Cooper with five and Justin Ellison, Hanlon and Kolby Williams with two each.