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Boys basketball: Chairmen of the boards: Lewisville dominates glass to clinch final playoff spot
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
FLOWER MOUND - Lewisville attacked the glass with such tenacity Friday that Marcus head coach Clay Cody thought they were outnumbered on the court.
As a result, there will be a new boys basketball champion in Class 5A.
The Farmers scored their first three baskets off offensive rebounds, part of an 11-0 run that saw Lewisville gain a lead they would never relinquish in a 51-44 victory.
"I thought we played a lot harder tonight," said Gary Collier, Lewisville head coach. "On Tuesday, we were doing some good things, but we just weren't making plays. Tonight, they played tough and played to win. We did a good job rebounding the ball and did a fairly decent job on defense. We still have to pick it up on the offensive end, but it was a good victory for us."
Two-time defending state champ Marcus misses out on the postseason for the first time since 2005.
"The kids knew they were undermanned and that there were no expectations but here we are," Cody said. "We're three points from beating Coppell and not even being in this game. We won a big game [Tuesday] to get here and played Lewisville pretty tough tonight. They just got a couple of runs on us and out-manned us. They're very athletic and played with a lot of energy tonight."
Lewisville's advantage on the glass was evident from the jump as the Farmers received a put-back from Caleb Loggins to get their first points before consecutive second-chance baskets and a subsequent 3-pointer from Anthony Davis put the Farmers ahead, 9-2.
Loggins would finish with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Davis recorded 10 points and seven boards. Jaden Wright chipped in five points and eight rebounds along with a pair of momentum-swinging blocks at the rim in the third quarter. As a team, Lewisville outrebounded Marcus, 37-24, and had 18 second-chance points.
"When Gary put his ninth guy on the floor at the time we couldn't keep all of them off," Cody said. "At least it seemed like he had nine on the floor. We had to do a better job of boxing out and taking care of the ball. That was the story right from the start and it was the same in the second half. We couldn't keep them off the boards."
Trailing at the break, 27-23, Marcus opened the third quarter strong on a dunk by Kaden Smith. But Loggins answered with consecutive hoops to push the Lewisville lead back to six and later the Farmers scored the final four points of the quarter for a 37-28 margin.
A Lewisville defense that forced 12 first-half turnovers continued to trouble Marcus with its press in the second half, with Wright and Marquis Williams coming up with steals on inbounds passes leading to a pair of transition buckets. Later in the fourth, Aaron Steele got a put-back of his own to bring the Marauders within six at 41-35 but Kaelin Love and Davis drilled back-to-back triples and all of a sudden the Farmers had their largest lead of the night at 47-35.
"We wanted it to be a full-court defensive game and to pick up early," Collier said. "We did a better job in our press than we did in the man-to-man. We wanted to make them make plays and force them out of their element."
Now Lewisville can focus on the playoffs Tuesday.
"This one was huge because it was our rival," Loggins said. "Last game, we were shooting too much and too early. Today, we really focused on getting the rebounds in case they shots weren't going in again. We have to keep that up and now we have some momentum going into the playoffs."
A Marcus team that features just two senior starters will seek a return to the postseason next year.
"I'm really proud of the kids," Cody said. "They hung tough. They could have folded the tent but they fought hard all year and were very coachable. We played to the very end tonight and they showed a lot of character."
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