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Down to the wire: West Mesquite staves off Frisco Wakeland to advance
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
While some area first-round matchups in the boys basketball playoffs might have lacked drama, West Mesquite's contest with Frisco Wakeland was not one of them.
Momentum swung from bench to bench several times through four quarters, but in the end, the Wranglers were able to prevail with a 68-66 victory in a Class 4A bi-district playoff game at Hebron High School.
West Mesquite (23-8) moves on to the area finals where it will face a surprise opponent in Hillcrest, who shocked Carter, the state's No. 2 ranked team, 51-47.
As they like to do, the Wranglers pushed the pace from the start against Wakeland, opening a 21-13 lead after one quarter.
But the Wolverines turned the tables in the second, doubling up West Mesquite 22-11 to take a 35-32 lead into halftime.
The Wranglers stepped on the gas to start the second half, scoring 24 points in the third quarter, which resulted in them regaining the lead at 56-53.
Both defenses tightened down the stretch and the game remained close, but West Mesquite was able to hit enough free throws in the final minutes to hold on for the two-point win.
Braylon Rayson had a big night for the Wranglers with 28 points, while Jalen Etienne scored 19 and Nate Davis added 12.
Cameron Walker and Noah Westerfield each scored 14 points to pace Wakeland.
Follow Devin Hasson on Twitter: @DevinHasson
Momentum swung from bench to bench several times through four quarters, but in the end, the Wranglers were able to prevail with a 68-66 victory in a Class 4A bi-district playoff game at Hebron High School.
West Mesquite (23-8) moves on to the area finals where it will face a surprise opponent in Hillcrest, who shocked Carter, the state's No. 2 ranked team, 51-47.
As they like to do, the Wranglers pushed the pace from the start against Wakeland, opening a 21-13 lead after one quarter.
But the Wolverines turned the tables in the second, doubling up West Mesquite 22-11 to take a 35-32 lead into halftime.
The Wranglers stepped on the gas to start the second half, scoring 24 points in the third quarter, which resulted in them regaining the lead at 56-53.
Both defenses tightened down the stretch and the game remained close, but West Mesquite was able to hit enough free throws in the final minutes to hold on for the two-point win.
Braylon Rayson had a big night for the Wranglers with 28 points, while Jalen Etienne scored 19 and Nate Davis added 12.
Cameron Walker and Noah Westerfield each scored 14 points to pace Wakeland.
Follow Devin Hasson on Twitter: @DevinHasson
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