No. 2 Marcus cruises to Texas 5A state final

AUSTIN – There's nothing complicated about the Marcus (Flower Mound) defense, coach Danny Henderson said.

"We just make it as difficult as possible to score," he said.

On Friday night, the defense was simply dominating as the Marauders made it nearly impossible for Naaman Forest (Garland) to score in a Texas Class 5A state semifinal. Marcus held Naaman Forest to its lowest scoring total of the season in a 59-34 victory at the Frank Erwin Center.

Marcus (38-2), ranked No. 2 nationally by MaxPreps, will face No. 15 Fort Bend Travis (Richmond) (36-3) in the 5A championship Saturday night at 9 p.m. Travis, making its first state tournament appearance, pulled away from Warren (San Antonio), 85-72, in Friday's other 5A semifinal.

Travis is led by junior guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison, twin brothers who are each 6-foot-5 and among the nation's top recruits in the Class of 2013. Aaron Harrison had 30 points and eight rebounds and Andrew Harrison had nine points, six assists and five rebounds in the win over Warren (35-6).

Travis didn't get a scare, but it certainly had more trouble than Marcus, the defending 5A champion. Marcus held Naaman Forest (29-8) scoreless for an eight-minute stretch of the first half and jumped to a 22-5 lead.

"Defense wins games," Marcus star guard Marcus Smart said. "For us to come out there and jump on them like that, it kind of took their confidence down a little bit."

Smart, a 6-4 McDonald's All-American, always gives Marcus confidence. The Oklahoma State signee scored 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had four assists for Marcus, which is hoping to be the first 5A team to repeat since Fort Bend Willowridge (Houston) won titles in 2000 and 2001. Willowridge's champs featured future college stars T.J. Ford (Texas) and Daniel Ewing (Duke), who have also played in the NBA.

Marcus also has star power with Smart and Division I signees Phil Forte (Oklahoma State) and Nick Banyard (New Mexico). They can all score, but more importantly for Marcus' game plan, they can all play defense. That's where everything starts for the Marauders, who have allowed only two teams to score more than 60 points this season.

It was clear early in the game that Naaman Forest wouldn't get near that total. Marcus double teamed Naaman Forest star Prince Ibeh, the 6-11 center who has signed with Texas, and held him to six points and nine rebounds.

"We doubled him every time he caught it in the post and made him give it up," Henderson said. "He's seven foot. You can't stop him when he gets into the paint. So we just kept him out of the paint."

Naaman Forest, which only hit 13 of 51 field goals (26 percent), trimmed Marcus' lead to 34-21 midway through the third quarter. But Marcus Smart scored on a three-point play, threw an alley-oop to Banyard and then passed to Matt Ledford for a basket that gave Marcus a 42-21 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter.

It was a runaway after that.

Dallas Kimball and Houston Yates will meet for 4A title

The 4A championship most fans had expected, and hoped for, is set for Saturday.

Kimball (Dallas) (33-5), the defending 4A champion, took a big early lead and held on for a 47-43 victory over Alamo Heights (San Antonio) (34-3) in the semifinals. Yates (Houston) (33-5), the champion in 2009 and 2010, cruised to a 87-67 victory over Ryan (Denton) (23-12).

Kimball and Yates have been the two top 4A programs in the state the last four seasons. Each is making its third state tournament appearance during that span, although they have met only once. Yates beat Kimball, 94-78, in the 2009 title game.

Both teams like a frenetic pace and score lots of their points in transition. Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game might draw a larger crowd than the 5A title game late in the evening. Yates' 2010 4A title game win over Lancaster attracted the UIL's largest basketball crowd ever: 16,755.

Yates and Kimball are each led by a star 6-5 guard. Yates features Oregon signee Daymean Dotson, who nailed 7 of 13 3-pointers and finished with 26 points against Ryan. Kimball's Keith Frazier, one of the nation's top recruits in the Class of 2013, had 22 points, five rebounds and three assists against Alamo Heights.

"We'll be ready Saturday," Kimball coach Royce Johnson said. "I think it's going to be good for the fans."