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Wolves scratch out win in regular season finale
BY Kevin Hageland Staff Writer
WYLIE – Plano West defeated Wylie Friday night, but as has been the case for many a Wolves game this season, the victory didn’t come easy.
West held a double-digit lead for much of the second and fourth quarter, yet still needed a desperation heave at the buzzer from Cardea Stewart to be off the mark before claiming the 69-68 win.
“We have given up big leads all year,” said Anthony Morgan, West head coach. “That goes all the way back to Lake Highlands in the first game of the season.”
“Scott is one of the most underrated seniors around,” said Deshon Portley, West junior guard. “He is a flat out scorer and one of the best players I’ve played against.”
West took four free throws in the last minute, yet made only one, leaving Wylie with its last gasp heave.
“There is no question we’ve got to hit our free throws down the stretch,” Morgan said.
Free throws plagued West throughout the night, but that didn’t prevent the Wolves from building up a sizable advantage. West closed out a fast-paced first quarter on an 8-0 run that gave the Wolves a 22-13 lead.
Wylie countered with Scott and Josh Young, who had 17 points, but had little else on the offensive end. Compare that with West, which got early baskets from senior Michael Pruneau, Portley and sophomore Kendall Britton to go along with the usual production of senior Jackson Jeffcoat and junior Geoffrey Groselle. The former put up 14 points and nine rebounds while the latter registering 12 points and a game-high 11 boards.
“I think our guards are a lot more confident right now,” said Portley, who had a team-high 17 points. “We got into a rhythm against (Plano) East and we’re trying to build off that.”
Jeffcoat and Groselle combined for 40 of West’s 50 points last Friday against Jesuit, but Friday night contributed only 26 of the Wolves 69 points in a far more balanced team effort.
“We talked a lot about that after the Jesuit game,” Morgan said. “We are trying to attack from the outside more so it will open up our inside game.”
That philosophy worked for much of the night as West built a lead as large as 13 and remained in front, 36-26, at the half.
Scott and Young hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the third quarter to pull Wylie closer and West was hindered by a barrage of offensive push-off fouls in the second half.
“It’ll be nice to get out into the playoffs,” Morgan said, “and get officials from another area.”
Wylie threatened to carry momentum into the final frame before a put back dunk from Groselle made it 51-47. That allowed the Wolves to be the aggressors in the fourth as they scored seven unanswered points in the first 67 seconds to reestablish a double-digit lead.
Wylie would chip away at its deficit the rest of the game, but was never able to overtake West, which clinched the No. 2 seed in District 8-5A.
“I think being in the bottom half of the (postseason) draw is a better deal for us,” Portley said.
West is off Tuesday and the playoffs won’t commence until a week after that, so Morgan said the Wolves are likely to schedule a warm-up game in the meantime.
Outside of that, there is no doubt what one of the focuses of practice will be.
“Definitely free throws,” Portley said. “Cause anything can happen when you miss your free throws.”
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