With an 18-game winning very much alive and a No. 4 ranking in this week's MaxPreps Texas Top 25, the Lancaster Tigers are looking like a strong contender for a Class 5A state title.
The run of success for Ferrin Douglas' team includes a 13-0 record in District 14-5A competition and an impressive 5-0 march to the Dallas ISD Coca-Cola holiday tournament back in December.
Lancaster's victims in the Coca-Cola included No. 5 Cedar Hill and No. 20 Kimball (Dallas) in the championship game.
The Tigers (24-4) haven't lost since Dec. 8, when No. 1 Plano West squeaked by with a nationally televised 56-55 win.
The team's star is 6-9 center
Elijah Thomas, a Texas A&M signee. But there is plenty of talent surrounding him, including 6-3 shooting guard
Antwon Portley, 5-10 junior point guard
Deon Barrett, 6-5 junior wing
Jakolby Pemberton and 5-10 junior guard
DaMarcus Hurd.
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MaxPreps Texas Top 25 Boys Basketball Rankings
1. Plano West 24-2 (1 last week)Tyler Davis scored 30 points and
D.J. Hogg had 27 in a 77-74 victory over Allen to cap a 2-0 week. The Wolves, now 14-0 in District 6-6A, defeated Hebron 68-56 in midweek behind Hogg's 20 points.
2. Atascocita (Humble) 28-1 (2)Junior guard
Carsen Edwards registered 24 points in a 73-57 win over Summer Creek (Houston). Edwards and
Brandon Loville each had 12 points in an 85-41 midweek rout of Oak Ridge (Conroe).
3. Clear Creek (League City) 27-2 (3)Jared Evans had 15 points and
Tyquon Jordan scored 14 in a 68-42 throttling of Friendswood. The Wildcats, now 11-0 in District 24-6A, earlier in the week edged Brazoswood (Clute) 68-62.
4. Lancaster 24-4 (4)
Deon Barrett, Lancaster
Photo by Jim Redman
Deon Barrett had 17 points and Antwon Portley had 15 in a 92-40 rout of Legacy (Mansfield). The Tigers defeated Lake Ridge (Mansfield) 52-41 on Tuesday.
5. Cedar Hill 23-2 (5)Kealon Clayborne led a balanced attack with 12 points as the Longhorns fought off an upset bid by Grand Prairie to win 60-54. Earlier in the week, Cedar Hill topped Duncanville, 60-50.
6. DeSoto 25-4 (6)The Eagles overcame a 15-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to rally past South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie) 55-54. Junior wing
Chase Winchester led the Eagles with 12 points and
Edric Dennis and
Julian Miranda had 11 each to help DeSoto improve to 8-1 in District 8-6A.
7. Clear Lake (Houston) 26-2 (7)Christian West tallied 15 points to lead the Falcons to a 56-45 triumph over Clear Falls (League City). Earlier in the week Clear Lake defeated Clear Brook (Friendswood) 73-52.
8. Brennan (San Antonio) 26-2 (10)Jordan Murphy broke loose for 34 points in a 91-67 leveling of Marshall (San Antonio). The Bears started a 2-0 week with a 68-40 dousing of Taft (San Antonio).
9. Richardson 25-4 (11)Ben Nakwaasah scored 18 points to lead the Eagles to a 73-57 victory over Mesquite. Richardson, now 10-1 in District 10-6A, began the week with a 64-56 win over Berkner (Richardson).
10. Fort Bend Elkins (Missouri City) 24-3 (8)The Knights bounced back from a 65-61 midweek loss to Ball (Galveston) with an 83-46 win over Fort Bend Willowridge (Houston).
Bryce Terrell was leading scorer in the victory with 12.
11. Clemens (Schertz) 26-4 (12)Jalon Gates led with 21 points in an 89-54 rout of Smithson Valley (Spring Branch). Earlier in the week the Buffaloes bashed Canyon (New Braunfels) 104-74.
12. Judson (Converse) 26-5 (13)Keiston Mackey led the way with 15 points in a 71-46 defeat of New Braunfels.
13. Beaumont Central 25-3 (9)A 58-53 loss to rival Ozen (Beaumont) snapped a two-month winning streak and sent the Jaguars into a tie for lead in District 22-5A with Ozen. Both teams are 10-1 and split the district series.
14. Ozen (Beaumont) 24-3 (14)Josh Boyd scored eight points in the fourth quarter to lead the Panthers to a 58-53 victory over rival Central and secure a tie for the top spot in District 22-5A.
15. Bel Air (El Paso) 27-0 (15)The Highlanders remained unbeaten after a 53-47 victory over Hanks (El Paso).
16. Andress (El Paso) 26-1 (16)The Eagles improved to 14-0 in District 1-5A with a 58-39 win over Canutillo and a 65-41 victory over Burges (El Paso).
17. Rockwall-Heath (Rockwall) 25-0 (17)Junior guard
Camron Talley accounted for 27 points in a 94-46 thumping of Royse City. The Hawks, now 11-0 in District 12-5A, began the week with an 80-42 triumph over Forney.
18. Amarillo 25-3 (18)Michael Dawn led Amarillo with 13 points and
Evan Wieck had 12 in a 51-46 victory over Tascosa (Amarillo).
19. Liberty (Frisco) 25-2 (19)Delwin Young had 19 points and
Reggie Chaney scored 16 in a 79-59 triumph over Heritage (Frisco). The Redhawks, now 12-1 in District 9-5A, began the week with a 49-43 win over Centennial (Frisco).
20. Kimball (Dallas) 21-6 (20)Jawun Evans scored 20 and
Anthony Thomas Jr. chipped in with 17 in a 115-40 rout of Samuell (Dallas).
21. South Oak Cliff (Dallas) 26-5 (21)C.J. Massingburg scored 30 points in an 85-54 win over Seagoville (Dallas).
22. Cinco Ranch (Katy) 23-4 (23)The Cougars remained unbeaten at 11-0 in District 19-6A with a couple of nail-biting wins.
Tyrus Perez led with 12 points in a 48-45 victory over Strake Jesuit (Houston) after a midweek 45-44 win over Seven Lakes (Katy).
23. Ellison (Killeen) 22-5 (24)Shakur Martin scored 19 points in a 64-38 road blasting of Belton.
24. North Shore (Houston) 23-6 (NR)Kerwin Roach had 16 points and
Derec Burks scored 14 in a 65-40 win over Deer Park. In a 92-43 midweek rout of Channelview,
Dorance Armstrong led with 21.
25. Prestonwood Christian (Plano) 25-4 (25)Daniel Tate led the way with 17 points in an 83-48 takedown of Nolan Catholic (Fort Worth) as the Lions improved to 10-0 in district play.
Dropped out: No. 22 Cypress Woods (Cypress)
