MaxPreps Texas Top 25 high school boys basketball rankings

The regular season concludes for UIL teams this week. Then it is on to the state playoffs. The first-round of this year's tournament begins on Feb. 17-18 and concludes in Austin on March 6-8.

One team sure to carry momentum into the playoffs is Manvel, No. 4 in the MaxPreps Texas Top 25. Unbeaten in the 2014 portion of their schedule, the Mavericks (27-4) have won 11 in a row.

Greg Devers' team can cap off a perfect 14-0 run through District 22-5A with a Tuesday victory over South Houston.

Leon Gilmore III, a Creighton signee, leads the Mavericks in scoring (17.5) and rebounding (8.9). Senior guard Ahamad Huff scores at a 9.2 clip and sophomore D'Eriq King, the quarterback on the football team, is assist leader (4.1).

Judson (Converse), DeSoto and North Shore (Houston) remain entrenched in top three spots.

Making its debut in the Texas Top 25 this week is Duncanville after taking No. 2 DeSoto to overtime and defeating No. 9 South Grand Prairie. Here are this week's best boys basketball teams in Texas.


1. Judson (Converse) 30-1 (Last week 1)
The Rockets reached the 30-win plateau with a 56-49 triumph over Canyon (New Braunfels) on Friday. Tanner Leissner led the way with 16 points and also led with 20 in Tuesday's 74-53 win over San Marcos. The Rockets are 9-0 in District 25-5A.

2. DeSoto 25-3 (2)
The Eagles survived a midweek trip to neighboring rival Duncanville, 57-50 in overtime, with Takedrick Brown leading the way with 13 points. DeSoto outscored Duncanville 13-6 in the extra period. Brown had 19 points in Friday's 65-39 blowout of Grand Prairie.

3. North Shore (Houston) 27-3 (3)
Helped by a 20-0 run in the second half, the Mustangs rallied past West Brook (Beaumont) 69-58 as Kerwin Roach had 15 points and nine rebounds. David Green's team finished the week with a 92-58 blowout of La Porte to clinch its third straight district title.

4. Manvel 27-4 (4)
The Mavericks kept their slate clean in District 22-5A at 13-0 with a pair of wins. Leon Gilmore III, a 6-7 senior, had 14 in a 66-49 triumph over Pearland. Guard Ahamad Huff broke loose for 21 points in an 85-60 blowout of Rayburn (Pasadena).

5. Fort Bend Bush (Richmond) 25-5 (5)
The Broncos avenged their only District 23-5A defeat with a 60-49 takedown of Fort Bend Travis (Richmond) as 5-9 junior Brendon Ganaway scored 27. Bush closed the week with a 70-55 crushing of Fort Bend Kempner (Sugar Land) with Brandon Jones scoring 19.

6. Plano West (Plano) 19-6 (7)
The Wolves bounced back from their first District 10-5A loss with an 84-55 rout of Boyd (McKinney) behind 31 points by D.J. Hogg. On Tuesday, Plano East defeated the Wolves 69-65 with Hogg scoring 22. Plano West retains its 10-5A lead with an 8-1 record.

7. Bowie (Arlington) 24-4 (8)
After a close call in the first District 3-5A meeting with Sam Houston (Arlington), the Volunteers had a much easier time in a 61-38 rout with Keegan Jones leading the way with 14 points.

8. Churchill (San Antonio) 28-3 (9)
Sophomore center Clevon Brown's 15 points paced the Chargers' 64-50 defeat of Reagan (San Antonio) on Friday. Brown and Brian Herring each scored 19 in a 73-56 midweek victory over Roosevelt (San Antonio).

9. South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie) 21-6 (6)
The Warriors fell out of second place in District 7-5A with a 57-53 road loss to Duncanville, giving the Panthers a sweep of the season series. Jalon Anderson and Rick Curry led the Warriors with 11 points each. On Tuesday, South Grand Prairie had no trouble with Midlothian, 51-34.

10. Tascosa (Amarillo) 24-1 (10)
The Rebels went on a 10-2 run in the final minutes for a 43-39 road victory over Coronado (Lubbock) to clinch the District 2-5A title with a 15-1 record. Senior guard Darius Polley led with 19 points. Earlier in the week, the Rebels routed Permian (Odessa) 65-43.

11. Andress (El Paso) 26-2 (11)
Debodric White and Jeffrey Long scored 12 each in a 67-26 rout of Burges (El Paso) to a complete a 2-0 week. In midweek, Jim Forbes' team crushed Irvin (El Paso) 91-57.

12. Dunbar (Fort Worth) 20-4 (15)
The Wildcats defeated Saginaw 78-71 and Chisholm Trail (Fort Worth) for a 2-0 week to go to 13-1 in District 6-4A.

13. Madison (Dallas) 22-4 (16)
Admon Gilder helped the District 11-3A leaders to a pair of easy wins, scoring 19 in an 83-47 rout of Ferris and 27 in a 95-77 humbling of Wilmer-Hutchins (Dallas).

14. Atascocita (Humble) 24-6 (17)
Carsen Edwards pumped in 19 points as the Eagles soared over Spring Dekaney (Houston) 69-58 to improve to 15-0 in District 13-5A. Earlier in the week, Oklahoma State-bound Joe Burton had 16 points in a 65-40 rout of Klein Collins (Spring).

15. Lancaster 25-4 (18)
The Tigers are hitting their late-season stride. Elijah Thomas scored 18 points in an 87-44 throttling on Ennis. Antwon Portley pumped in 15 as Lancaster chopped down Red Oak 90-36.

16. Hebron (Carrollton) 20-7 (20)
The Hawks fought their way to the top of the District 5-5A standings thanks to a 74-72 triple-overtime victory over Marcus (Flower Mound). Tyler Williams led the way with 22 points. Hebron went to 8-1 in league play with Friday's 56-38 triumph over Coppell behind Williams' 16 points.

17. Marcus (Flower Mound) 23-4 (19)
The District 5-5A lead slipped away in a 74-72 triple-overtime loss to Hebron on Tuesday, despite Michael Mayhew's 24 points. Marcus rebounded on Friday, crushing Ryan (Denton) 58-27 to go to 7-2 in league play.

18. Trinity (Euless) 23-6 (22)
Top prospect Myles Turner, a 6-10 senior post, helped the Trojans avenge their only District 6-5A loss, scoring 19 points in a 67-53 win over Irving. Turner had 19 again in a 61-44 midweek stampede of Grapevine.

19. Bel Air (El Paso) 25-2 (12)
Josh Gallegos scored 17 points and Jordan Enriquez had 12 in a 59-51 triumph over Montwood (El Paso) to salvage a 1-1 week after a 49-40 loss to Coronado (El Paso).

20. Allen 22-6 (13)
The Eagles slipped to third place in District 10-5A after a 49-48 loss to Plano East on Friday, despite Nick Rutherford's 17 points. In midweek, Allen squeezed past Plano 51-48 with Olin Carter scoring a team-high 13.

21. Keller 21-5 (21)
Richland (North Richland Hills) sent the Indians to their second District 4-5A loss, 53-44. The Rebels outscored Keller by 14 points in the fourth quarter. Nolan Taylor had 18 points in Keller's response on Friday, a 51-46 victory over Northwest (Justin).

22. Clear Lake (Houston) 28-4 (23)
Falcons senior guards Will West and Drake Green each scored 15 points in a 59-45 victory over Clear Falls (League City).

23. Prestonwood Christian (Plano) 28-4 (14)
The Lions suffered a pair of losses but still retain a slim league lead with an 8-2 record. John Paul II (Plano) prevailed 47-46 despite 13 points from Evan Peters. Then Trinity Christian (Addison) scored a 66-58 victory despite 17 points from D.J. McGee.

24. Duncanville 17-11 (NR)
The Panthers are finishing the regular season on the upswing, defeating South Grand Prairie 57-53 to take possession of second place in District 7-5A with a 9-4 record. Duncanville took 7-5A leader DeSoto to overtime before losing, 57-50. Matthew McQuaid, a 6-5 junior shooting guard, scored 40 points for the week and 6-8 senior post Omar Sherman had 34.

25. Wheatley (Houston) 26-4 (25)
The Wildcats exceeded 100 points in both of their wins. Kevon Johnson scored 32 in a 101-68 wipeout of Waltrip (Houston). Earlier in the week, Ronald Johnson had 18 in a 108-57 leveling of Lee (Houston).

Dropped out: No. 24 Alamo Heights (San Antonio)

On the bubble
Heritage (Frisco) 22-3, Highland Park (Dallas) 26-4, John Paul II (Plano) 22-5, Pearland 23-8, Plano East (Plano) 17-9, Rowe (McAllen) 29-1, South Oak Cliff (Dallas) 22-5, Westfield (Houston) 25-6, Wagner (San Antonio) 23-7, Yates (Houston) 16-9