Yates (Houston) boys basketball coach Greg Wise is quite convinced his team is the best in the nation.
"And every night we’re going out to prove it," he said.
Like opening night.
The host Lions came out roaring with a 140-81 win over a no-slouch Dickinson squad Monday night as 6-foot-1 senior guard Brandon Peters went for 39 points while Providence-bound guard Joseph Young added 33.
Wise isn’t sure if the 140 is a school record but he’s quite confident that Monday’s flurry was no fluke. Yates, the defending state 5A champions, is No. 4 in MaxPreps' Xcellent 25 national high school boys basketball rankings. The Lions went 33-1 last season.
"This is a special team, so nothing they do surprises me at all," Wise said. "We believe in what we do, we believe in each other and we just play hard."
What they do is press, press and press some more with superior quickness, length and ball-hawking skills.
The Lions scored 39 in the first and third quarters, 26 in the second and 36 in the fourth. Remember, quarters are only eight minutes in high school basketball. They averaged 4.4 points per minute.
They also forced 17 turnovers in the first quarter alone, according to the Galveston County Daily News. Dickinson coach Mike Tucker told the newspaper that he was actually pleased with his team’s performance.
"I look at this as a steppingstone," Tucker said. "It’s the best 60-point loss I’ve ever had. They could have scored 200."
Yates, which returned all five starters from last year’s squad, may just average in triple digits this season after averaging 94 last year and surpassing the century mark 13 times.
Darius Gardner, a 5-foot-10 guard, added 24 points for the winners and Alexander Davis, a 6-9 senior, added 20. No one else scored in double figures for the winners.
Decrick Archie had 22 points, and Sam Kinslaw 19 for Dickinson, which went 9-26 last year. Archie is one of five returnees off that team, which is supposed to be vastly improved.
"From what I’ve heard (Dickinson) has a good chance to win its district," Wise said.
