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TWCA advances to state title game
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| The Woodlands Christian Academy's Evan Flance scored a game-high 15 points on his birthday to help the Warriors to a 55-39 state semifinal win over Arlington's Pantego Christian Academy Friday evening. |
By MIKE TAYLOR
MANSFIELD — The defending state champs will defend their championship.
The Woodlands Christian Academy moved on to its second consecutive TAPPS 3A state championship game with a 55-39 win over Arlington’s Pantego Christian Academy in the state semifinals Friday evening at Mansfield Summit High School.
Locked in a tight battle for the first quarter and a half, the Warriors (31-4) opened up an eight-point gap with a 12-2 run to close the second quarter.
With only 1.1 seconds remaining before halftime, senior guard Joe Carr capped the rally with a basket off an inbounds play. Evan Flance passed the ball from under the basket to Carr, who hit a soft leaner in the lane for a 24-16 lead.
“They executed that perfectly,” TWCA coach Darrel Johnson said. “We practice it every day just for that kind of situation. I thought they executed tremendously.”
In today’s title game, TWCA plays Fort Worth’s Lake Country Christian School (23-9), which beat Bullard’s The Brook Hill School 61-53 in a back-and-forth game Friday afternoon.
The championship game is scheduled to tip off at 1 p.m. at Mansfield Legacy High School.
“They’re a great team,” Johnson said of Lake Country. “They beat Pantego two out of three this year so there were two great teams out of that district (2-3A).
“(Forward) Jesse Jackson is one of the best players we’ve played against all year so it’ll be a tall order for us.”
The Warriors played the semifinal game without all-state forward Derek Johnson, who injured his left ankle in practice last week and has now missed the last two playoff games.
But all five of TWCA’s starters stepped up to fill the void.
Flance scored a game-high 15 points on his birthday to lead all scorers, while Carr and Cameron Wilson chipped in 12 points apiece. Sterling Frand and Zaheed Hall scored eight points each. Wilson also dished out five assists, while Carr pulled down 11 rebounds and had five steals. Hall grabbed seven boards.
Wilson hit a three-pointer midway through the third quarter to push TWCA’s lead to 33-25. After Pantego (21-11) got back within three, the Warriors ended the quarter with buckets by Frand and Wilson to up their advantage to seven. Wilson nailed his second trey a minute into the fourth to put the Warriors on top 40-30, effectively sealing the game.
Steven Tally led the Panthers with 10 points, while leading scorer Kyle McElvain was held to nine points — none in the first half.
“They’ve got two or three good players, but he was certainly the key and was the focus of our defense,” Johnson said. “Defense is what we hang our hat on. I thought the kids really showed a lot of guts, played hard and tenacious defensively. They played through fatigue and some bad calls. I’m really proud of them.”
Derek Johnson was expected to receive treatment on his ankle Friday night and Saturday morning before trying to play this afternoon. Darrel Johnson said there was a 50-50 chance his son would play.
“We’ll decide at game time,” he said. “He wants to play in the worst way and I would love to let him play, but I don’t want to risk his health. We’ll have to see.”
The Woodlands Christian Academy 55, Pantego Christian Academy 39
PCA 9 7 14 9 — 39
TWCA 8 16 13 18 — 55
Leaders — PCA: Steven Tally, 10 points; Kyle McElvain, 9 points; Tyler Walker, 8 points; Ben Hecht, 7 points; Scott Tally, 5 points. TWCA: Evan Flance, 15 points; Joe Carr, 12 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals; Cameron Wilson, 12 points, 5 assists; Zaheed Hall, 8 points, 7 rebounds; Sterling Frand, 8 points.
Field Goals — PCA: 16-44 (.364). TWCA: 22-49 (.449).
Three-Pointers — PCA: 6-17 (.353). TWCA: 2-10 (.200).
Free Throws — PCA: 1-4 (.250). TWCA: 9-14 (.643).
Turnovers — PCA: 19. TWCA: 13.
The Woodlands Christian Academy moved on to its second consecutive TAPPS 3A state championship game with a 55-39 win over Arlington’s Pantego Christian Academy in the state semifinals Friday evening at Mansfield Summit High School.
Locked in a tight battle for the first quarter and a half, the Warriors (31-4) opened up an eight-point gap with a 12-2 run to close the second quarter.
With only 1.1 seconds remaining before halftime, senior guard Joe Carr capped the rally with a basket off an inbounds play. Evan Flance passed the ball from under the basket to Carr, who hit a soft leaner in the lane for a 24-16 lead.
“They executed that perfectly,” TWCA coach Darrel Johnson said. “We practice it every day just for that kind of situation. I thought they executed tremendously.”
In today’s title game, TWCA plays Fort Worth’s Lake Country Christian School (23-9), which beat Bullard’s The Brook Hill School 61-53 in a back-and-forth game Friday afternoon.
The championship game is scheduled to tip off at 1 p.m. at Mansfield Legacy High School.
“They’re a great team,” Johnson said of Lake Country. “They beat Pantego two out of three this year so there were two great teams out of that district (2-3A).
“(Forward) Jesse Jackson is one of the best players we’ve played against all year so it’ll be a tall order for us.”
The Warriors played the semifinal game without all-state forward Derek Johnson, who injured his left ankle in practice last week and has now missed the last two playoff games.
But all five of TWCA’s starters stepped up to fill the void.
Flance scored a game-high 15 points on his birthday to lead all scorers, while Carr and Cameron Wilson chipped in 12 points apiece. Sterling Frand and Zaheed Hall scored eight points each. Wilson also dished out five assists, while Carr pulled down 11 rebounds and had five steals. Hall grabbed seven boards.
Wilson hit a three-pointer midway through the third quarter to push TWCA’s lead to 33-25. After Pantego (21-11) got back within three, the Warriors ended the quarter with buckets by Frand and Wilson to up their advantage to seven. Wilson nailed his second trey a minute into the fourth to put the Warriors on top 40-30, effectively sealing the game.
Steven Tally led the Panthers with 10 points, while leading scorer Kyle McElvain was held to nine points — none in the first half.
“They’ve got two or three good players, but he was certainly the key and was the focus of our defense,” Johnson said. “Defense is what we hang our hat on. I thought the kids really showed a lot of guts, played hard and tenacious defensively. They played through fatigue and some bad calls. I’m really proud of them.”
Derek Johnson was expected to receive treatment on his ankle Friday night and Saturday morning before trying to play this afternoon. Darrel Johnson said there was a 50-50 chance his son would play.
“We’ll decide at game time,” he said. “He wants to play in the worst way and I would love to let him play, but I don’t want to risk his health. We’ll have to see.”
The Woodlands Christian Academy 55, Pantego Christian Academy 39
PCA 9 7 14 9 — 39
TWCA 8 16 13 18 — 55
Leaders — PCA: Steven Tally, 10 points; Kyle McElvain, 9 points; Tyler Walker, 8 points; Ben Hecht, 7 points; Scott Tally, 5 points. TWCA: Evan Flance, 15 points; Joe Carr, 12 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals; Cameron Wilson, 12 points, 5 assists; Zaheed Hall, 8 points, 7 rebounds; Sterling Frand, 8 points.
Field Goals — PCA: 16-44 (.364). TWCA: 22-49 (.449).
Three-Pointers — PCA: 6-17 (.353). TWCA: 2-10 (.200).
Free Throws — PCA: 1-4 (.250). TWCA: 9-14 (.643).
Turnovers — PCA: 19. TWCA: 13.
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