MaxPreps Texas Top 25 high school basketball rankings

Video: 7th-grader drops beyond half-court buzzer beater

DeSoto, ranked No. 2 in this week's MaxPreps Texas Top 25, is known for defense. Opponents this season are scoring an average of 46.5 per game. The Eagles (20-1) average 70.

Coach Chris Dyer estimates his team spends 65 percent of its practice time perfecting ways to stop opponents from scoring. With four state tournament appearances in the last 13 seasons, the system is obviously working for a school that had little basketball success before Dyer arrived in 1998.

This season, DeSoto has extra bite with imposing Marques Bolden on the last line of its defense. The 6-foot-10 senior is on the recruiting radar of some of the nation's top college programs but remains uncommitted.



Only 23-0 Atascocita (Humble) separates DeSoto from the state's top spot. Coincidentally, Atascocita coach David Martinez is a former DeSoto assistant under Dyer.

DeSoto will need to be at its defensive best this week when it hosts No. 24 South Grand Prairie on Tuesday and goes to No. 10 Cedar Hill on Friday.

Check out all of our MaxPreps Texas boys basketball pro photo galleries and computer rankings.


1. (1 last week) Atascocita (Humble) 23-0
Guard Carsen Edwards contributed to a 2-0 week for the Eagles with 27 points in an 82-35 thrashing of Oak Ridge (Conroe).

2. (2) DeSoto (Texas) 20-1
Jordan Berry scored 24 points and Marques Bolden added 16 in an 81-41 romp over Mansfield to cap a 2-0 week in District 8-6A.

3. (3) Fort Bend Elkins (Missouri City) 20-1
Bryce Terrell, a 6-5 senior forward, leads the club in rebounds, averaging 6.9 per game. The Knights had blowout wins over Texas City and Ball (Galveston).

4. (4) Fort Bend Travis (Richmond) 19-3
Sage Tolbert notched 17 points in an 84-41 blowout of Fort Bend Dulles (Sugar Land) to cap a 2-0 week for the Tigers.



5. (5) Lancaster (Texas) 18-2
Deon Barrett tallied 18 points in a 72-37 midweek humbling of Legacy (Mansfield).

6. (6) Benjamin Davis (Houston) 18-2
Royce Hamm, a 6-7 junior post, scored 17 points in an 80-45 thumping of Eisenhower (Houston).

7. (7) Steele (Cibolo) 20-1
Gerald Liddell, a 6-7 sophomore guard, had 21 points in an 84-83 triumph over Clemens (Schertz).

8. (8) Brandeis (San Antonio) 21-0
Kobe Magee canned seven 3-pointers on the way to 32 points in a 90-65 mauling of Marshall (San Antonio).

9. (9) Houston Math Science & Tech 18-4
Sophomore Kendric Davis pumped in 28 points in a 103-65 crushing of Chavez (Houston).

10. (10) Cedar Hill 16-2
Bruce Simmons notched 22 points in an 82-78 victory over Duncanville to cap a 2-0 week in District 8-6A.

11. (11) Skyline (Dallas) 17-1
Ladarrian Burney accounted for 20 points in a 67-61 victory in a showdown with MacArthur (Irving) to end a 2-0 week for the Raiders in District 10-6A.



12. (12) Shoemaker (Killeen) 20-2
The Wolves cruised past rival Harker Heights, 62-48, on the road.

13. (13) North Crowley (Fort Worth) 17-3
Jordon Myers' 15 points helped fuel a 66-57 victory over Bowie (Arlington).

14. (15) Tascosa (Amarillo) 20-0
The Rebels had victory margins of 50 and 49 points, respectively, over Pampa and Dumas.

15. (16) Dekaney (Houston) 16-6
Cameron Ivey, a 5-10 junior guard, led with 13 points in a 55-54 triumph over Spring Westfield (Houston).

16. (17) Richardson 17-4
Brandon Averette poured in 43 points in an 84-77 triumph over Berkner (Richardson) to cap a 2-0 week in District 10-6A play.

17. (25) Vista Ridge (Cedar Park) 21-1
After a 66-point rout to start the week, the Rangers squeezed out a 53-51 road win at Vandegrift (Austin).



18. (19) The Woodlands 18-5
Following a road loss to No. 1 Atascocita (Humble), the Highlanders bounced back with a 76-45 win over College Park (Conroe) behind 14 points from Jack Hammett and A.J. Bullard.

19. (21) Prestonwood Christian (Plano) 19-7
The Lions capped a 2-0 week by edging John Paul II (Plano), 51-50.

20. (22) Ozen (Beaumont) 17-2
The Panthers celebrated a 2-0 week by scoring 100 in a 68-point rout of Vidor.

21. (14) Flower Mound 17-5
Bryce Boyd led the Jaguars with 14 points in a 64-61 double-overtime loss to Plano West.

22. (18) Allen 16-5
Hans Burwitz notched 18 points in a midweek 69-56 victory at Plano West, but the Eagles fell to Plano East, 55-49 on Friday.

23. (23) Martin (Arlington) 16-3
Conner Lidiak scored 18 points to lead the Warriors to an 88-47 rout of Weatherford.



24. (NR) South Grand Prairie 15-6
The Warriors' 2-0 week included a 76-57 win at Duncanville and a 75-46 romp over Grand Prairie with Oklahoma State signee Cameron McGriff scoring 18.

25. (NR) Trinity Christian (Addison) 20-3
Mark Paterson led the way with 21 points in a 41-32 triumph over Bishop Dunne (Dallas).

Dropped out: No. 20 Plano West, No. 24 Klein Forest (Houston).

Teams to watch
Americas (El Paso) 20-1
Bel Air (El Paso) 16-1
Churchill (San Antonio) 18-4
Cinco Ranch (Katy) 17-5
Fort Bend Bush (Richmond) 15-7
Fort Bend Hightower (Missouri City) 19-4
Liberty (Frisco) 17-5
Plano East 16-6
Westfield (Houston) 16-6
McAllen Memorial (McAllen) 20-2