Adidas410s
03-08-2007, 12:34 PM
Wylie boys hoping to join title club
By Nathan Sanders / sandersn@reporternews.com
March 8, 2007
When the Wylie boys basketball team resumed practice on Monday, the Bulldogs were greeted by a purple plastic banner attached to the wall behind one of the goals in the gymnasium.
The banner's five words said it all:
WYLIE BULLDOGS.
STATE BOUND.
CONGRATULATIONS.
A closer inspection revealed remnants of old masking tape stuck to the edges of the sign, presumably from previous mountings around campus.
It makes sense. At a school like Wylie, that kind of sign is bound to get quite a workout.
Since December of 2004, Wylie has won state championships in football and team tennis and has reached the state tournament in girls basketball and baseball. Add in state berths from other sports such as individual tennis and track, and it's a wonder that banner hasn't been reduced to shreds by overuse.
Now the boys basketball team has joined the club.
After losing to the eventual regional champion in each of their previous five postseason trips, the second-ranked Bulldogs (33-2) broke through in convincing fashion this past weekend, beating Fabens and Brownfield by an average of 19 points at the Region I tournament in Lubbock. Their long-awaited reward is a state semifinal encounter with Region IV champ Aransas Pass (23-17) at 3:30 p.m. today at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.
''It was an amazing feeling, just a sense of relief,'' junior guard Mason Macnoll said of clinching Wylie's first-ever state berth in boys hoops. ''We knew that we were expected to do something, and we did our job, so it was really fulfilling.''
''Relief'' is the operative word at a school where state berths are almost expected. Do those high standards create an overload of pressure? Not according to senior guard Michael Strong.
''I was just thinking about how blessed we are to go to a school where success just comes naturally, I guess,'' Strong said. ''It's a fun place to be. ... I don't feel that much pressure.''
The Bulldogs' next hurdle is an Aransas Pass team that is making its fourth trip to Austin since 2002. To counter that, Wylie will lean on its state background in other sports.
Senior guard Gary Edwards was a letterman on the 2004 state championship football team, and he has gone to state in track in each of the past two years. Macnoll played center field and senior guard Michael Strong pitched in relief in the baseball team's 5-2 state semifinal loss to Falfurrias in June. Does the experience taken from those events translate to the basketball court?
''I think it does,'' Strong said. ''Mason and I have both been there in baseball, so we've dealt with that kind of pressure and having a lot of people watching us and the high stakes like that. We know what it's like to lose and the disappointment of that, and we don't want to experience that again.''
Wylie coach Russell Perkins agrees.
''You bet,'' Perkins said. ''That's the good thing about being at Wylie is that a lot of our kids have played in big games for years. They have been in big situations their whole careers here, and they have seen other kids perform in big situations. I think that is something where high expectations are a positive, and these kids have taken those really to another level.''
Edwards said he was nervous during his first trips to state as a sophomore. Experience has calmed those nerves considerably.
''I'm pretty much used to it now,'' Edwards said. ''I just want to play and go for it.''
n INJURY UPDATE: Senior post Cory Davis' status for today's game is still uncertain. Davis was sidelined by a pulled left hamstring early in Friday's regional semifinal against Fabens and did not play against Brownfield on Saturday. Davis did not practice on Monday or Tuesday, though he did do some jogging and rode a stationary bike during Tuesday's workout.
''I'm encouraged with how much better he feels now than he did on Saturday,'' Perkins said Tuesday. ''If he continues to improve at that rate, maybe he'll feel comfortable enough to give it a shot.''
SOUR LAKE HARDIN-JEFFERSON HAWKS
Record: 36-4
State ranking: No. 3
Road to Austin: First-round bye; d. West Columbia 59-53 in area round; d. Navasota 57-50 in regional quarterfinals; d. Waco Connally 51-46 in regional semifinals; d. No. 15 Silsbee 85-79 in overtime in regional final.
About Hardin-Jefferson: The Hawks are making their sixth trip to state but their first since 1994. ... The Hawks have scored 90 or more seven times, topped by a 109-52 victory over Hamshire-Fannett. ... Six-foot-8 senior center Duane Durley (10 points, eight rebounds per game) scored 19 points and 6-1 senior guard Ryan Donahoe had 26 against Silsbee as the Hawks rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit. H-J also came back from 17 points down vs. Waco Connally.
TYLER CHAPEL HILL BULLDOGS
Record: 30-7
State ranking: No. 4
Road to Austin: First-round bye; d. Texarkana Liberty-Eylau 74-52 in area round; d. Pittsburg 80-75 in regional quarterfinals; d. Kennedale 65-49 in regional semifinals; d. No. 12 Princeton 53-52 in regional final.
About Tyler Chapel Hill: This is the first state tournament trip for the Bulldogs, which have only one player taller than 6-foot-3. That one player is 6-4 junior Chris Mass, who is averaging 20.5 points and 12.3 rebounds in the playoffs. ... Junior point guard Tony Riley (19.8 ppg in the playoffs) had 10 points in the fourth quarter of the victory over Princeton. ... Tyler Chapel Hill has won 15 consecutive games.
ARANSAS PASS PANTHERS
Record: 23-17
State ranking: Unranked
Road to Austin: d. No. 20 Yoakum 49-48 in bi-district round; d. Hidalgo 74-51 in area round; d. No. 11 Corpus Christi West Oso 48-47 in regional quarterfinals; d. Hondo 57-50 in regional semifinals; d. Gonzales 67-61 in regional final.
About Aransas Pass: The Panthers finished third in District 30-3A but have won seven in a row. ... Aransas Pass leans on its inside duo of 6-8 senior Shannon Johnson (10.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and 6-7 senior Cody Hall (4.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg). ... Senior guard Brandon Garcia (17.1 ppg) scored 32 against Gonzales. ... Possible good news for Wylie: In each of its previous three trips to state (2002, 2003 and 2005), Aransas Pass lost in the semifinals to the eventual state champ.
WYLIE BULLDOGS
Record: 32-3
State ranking: No. 2
Road to Austin: First-round bye; d. Vernon 67-60 in area round; d. Perryton 53-44 in regional quarterfinals; d. No. 10 Fabens 60-44 in regional semifinals; d. Brownfield 75-53 in regional final.
About Wylie: Senior guard Gary Edwards is averaging a team-best 21.3 points per game in the playoffs, highlighted by his season-best 29-point effort against Vernon. ... The Bulldogs have been boosted by 6-foot-5 JV call-up Ryan Carlson, who scored six points against Brownfield. Carlson's presence will be needed against Aransas Pass' tall interior players, especially if Cory Davis is unable to go. ... Wylie is allowing just 43.3 points per game.
CLASS 3A STATE SEMIFINAL
Who: Wylie (32-3) vs. Aransas Pass (23-17)
When, where: 3:30 p.m. today, Frank Erwin Center, Austin
By Nathan Sanders / sandersn@reporternews.com
March 8, 2007
When the Wylie boys basketball team resumed practice on Monday, the Bulldogs were greeted by a purple plastic banner attached to the wall behind one of the goals in the gymnasium.
The banner's five words said it all:
WYLIE BULLDOGS.
STATE BOUND.
CONGRATULATIONS.
A closer inspection revealed remnants of old masking tape stuck to the edges of the sign, presumably from previous mountings around campus.
It makes sense. At a school like Wylie, that kind of sign is bound to get quite a workout.
Since December of 2004, Wylie has won state championships in football and team tennis and has reached the state tournament in girls basketball and baseball. Add in state berths from other sports such as individual tennis and track, and it's a wonder that banner hasn't been reduced to shreds by overuse.
Now the boys basketball team has joined the club.
After losing to the eventual regional champion in each of their previous five postseason trips, the second-ranked Bulldogs (33-2) broke through in convincing fashion this past weekend, beating Fabens and Brownfield by an average of 19 points at the Region I tournament in Lubbock. Their long-awaited reward is a state semifinal encounter with Region IV champ Aransas Pass (23-17) at 3:30 p.m. today at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.
''It was an amazing feeling, just a sense of relief,'' junior guard Mason Macnoll said of clinching Wylie's first-ever state berth in boys hoops. ''We knew that we were expected to do something, and we did our job, so it was really fulfilling.''
''Relief'' is the operative word at a school where state berths are almost expected. Do those high standards create an overload of pressure? Not according to senior guard Michael Strong.
''I was just thinking about how blessed we are to go to a school where success just comes naturally, I guess,'' Strong said. ''It's a fun place to be. ... I don't feel that much pressure.''
The Bulldogs' next hurdle is an Aransas Pass team that is making its fourth trip to Austin since 2002. To counter that, Wylie will lean on its state background in other sports.
Senior guard Gary Edwards was a letterman on the 2004 state championship football team, and he has gone to state in track in each of the past two years. Macnoll played center field and senior guard Michael Strong pitched in relief in the baseball team's 5-2 state semifinal loss to Falfurrias in June. Does the experience taken from those events translate to the basketball court?
''I think it does,'' Strong said. ''Mason and I have both been there in baseball, so we've dealt with that kind of pressure and having a lot of people watching us and the high stakes like that. We know what it's like to lose and the disappointment of that, and we don't want to experience that again.''
Wylie coach Russell Perkins agrees.
''You bet,'' Perkins said. ''That's the good thing about being at Wylie is that a lot of our kids have played in big games for years. They have been in big situations their whole careers here, and they have seen other kids perform in big situations. I think that is something where high expectations are a positive, and these kids have taken those really to another level.''
Edwards said he was nervous during his first trips to state as a sophomore. Experience has calmed those nerves considerably.
''I'm pretty much used to it now,'' Edwards said. ''I just want to play and go for it.''
n INJURY UPDATE: Senior post Cory Davis' status for today's game is still uncertain. Davis was sidelined by a pulled left hamstring early in Friday's regional semifinal against Fabens and did not play against Brownfield on Saturday. Davis did not practice on Monday or Tuesday, though he did do some jogging and rode a stationary bike during Tuesday's workout.
''I'm encouraged with how much better he feels now than he did on Saturday,'' Perkins said Tuesday. ''If he continues to improve at that rate, maybe he'll feel comfortable enough to give it a shot.''
SOUR LAKE HARDIN-JEFFERSON HAWKS
Record: 36-4
State ranking: No. 3
Road to Austin: First-round bye; d. West Columbia 59-53 in area round; d. Navasota 57-50 in regional quarterfinals; d. Waco Connally 51-46 in regional semifinals; d. No. 15 Silsbee 85-79 in overtime in regional final.
About Hardin-Jefferson: The Hawks are making their sixth trip to state but their first since 1994. ... The Hawks have scored 90 or more seven times, topped by a 109-52 victory over Hamshire-Fannett. ... Six-foot-8 senior center Duane Durley (10 points, eight rebounds per game) scored 19 points and 6-1 senior guard Ryan Donahoe had 26 against Silsbee as the Hawks rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit. H-J also came back from 17 points down vs. Waco Connally.
TYLER CHAPEL HILL BULLDOGS
Record: 30-7
State ranking: No. 4
Road to Austin: First-round bye; d. Texarkana Liberty-Eylau 74-52 in area round; d. Pittsburg 80-75 in regional quarterfinals; d. Kennedale 65-49 in regional semifinals; d. No. 12 Princeton 53-52 in regional final.
About Tyler Chapel Hill: This is the first state tournament trip for the Bulldogs, which have only one player taller than 6-foot-3. That one player is 6-4 junior Chris Mass, who is averaging 20.5 points and 12.3 rebounds in the playoffs. ... Junior point guard Tony Riley (19.8 ppg in the playoffs) had 10 points in the fourth quarter of the victory over Princeton. ... Tyler Chapel Hill has won 15 consecutive games.
ARANSAS PASS PANTHERS
Record: 23-17
State ranking: Unranked
Road to Austin: d. No. 20 Yoakum 49-48 in bi-district round; d. Hidalgo 74-51 in area round; d. No. 11 Corpus Christi West Oso 48-47 in regional quarterfinals; d. Hondo 57-50 in regional semifinals; d. Gonzales 67-61 in regional final.
About Aransas Pass: The Panthers finished third in District 30-3A but have won seven in a row. ... Aransas Pass leans on its inside duo of 6-8 senior Shannon Johnson (10.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and 6-7 senior Cody Hall (4.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg). ... Senior guard Brandon Garcia (17.1 ppg) scored 32 against Gonzales. ... Possible good news for Wylie: In each of its previous three trips to state (2002, 2003 and 2005), Aransas Pass lost in the semifinals to the eventual state champ.
WYLIE BULLDOGS
Record: 32-3
State ranking: No. 2
Road to Austin: First-round bye; d. Vernon 67-60 in area round; d. Perryton 53-44 in regional quarterfinals; d. No. 10 Fabens 60-44 in regional semifinals; d. Brownfield 75-53 in regional final.
About Wylie: Senior guard Gary Edwards is averaging a team-best 21.3 points per game in the playoffs, highlighted by his season-best 29-point effort against Vernon. ... The Bulldogs have been boosted by 6-foot-5 JV call-up Ryan Carlson, who scored six points against Brownfield. Carlson's presence will be needed against Aransas Pass' tall interior players, especially if Cory Davis is unable to go. ... Wylie is allowing just 43.3 points per game.
CLASS 3A STATE SEMIFINAL
Who: Wylie (32-3) vs. Aransas Pass (23-17)
When, where: 3:30 p.m. today, Frank Erwin Center, Austin