An unexpected ending

Our season came to an early end Friday night at the hands of the Terrell Tigers. More specifically, one player was the cause of our demise.

Antwain Thomas simply put on a shooting exhibition on a level that I have never seen before, and I doubt I will ever see again. He was 21 of 35 from the field, including 16 of 27 from three point range and 3 of 4 at the FT line. 61 points. I am still in shock

The amazing thing about it is all but a couple of those shots were closely guarded and contested. The kid just could not miss and we couldn't do anything about it. It is unexplainable.

Congratulations to Terrell and good luck to you in the rest of the playoffs. It would make me feel a lot better if those kind of performances continued and you go on to win it all.

Area Basketball Game Details Finalized

The Area Playoff Game vs. Terrell will be Friday, 7:30 at McKinney Boyd High School.

Admission: Adults $5, Students $3

Passes: TABC, THSCA, TGCA, PISD Badge, Senior Citizen

Directions: From HWY 75 South, take the HWY 380 exit and turn right (west). Continue on 380 until you come to the light at Lake Forest Drive. Turn left (south) at the light, and you will see the high school on your left.

It is a brand new gym with a seating capacity of 2,000. We need to fill it up with Wildcat Fans!

Area Round Playoff Game Set

Terrell defeated McKinney tonight in their Bi-District game. We will play Terrell on Friday, Dec. 23 at 7:30pm in McKinney. As of right now the game will be at McKinney High School. However there is a possibility that it will be moved to either McKinney Boyd or McKinney North. All three are great venues, but Boyd and North are much newer and bigger. We are waiting to get confirmation from McKinney ISD that Boyd or North will be available. If so, the game will likely be moved there. If not it will be at McKinney High. Updates will be made once this decision is made.

Warm-up game

We will play Princeton at Bonham High School on Monday, February 19th at 6:00pm in a playoff warm up game.

Paris News article from Texas High game 2/13

Wildcats clinch district title

By Van Hilburn The Paris News

Published February 14, 2007

TEXARKANA — After having already clinched a playoff berth, the Paris Wildcats could have taken Tuesday night's game at Texas High a little lightly.

No such luck for the host Tigers, who saw the visiting Wildcats clinch the outright District 11-4A championship with a 69-54 victory.

Four Paris players scored in double figures as the Wildcats went ahead midway through the first quarter and never looked back. Junior post Courtney Jackson recorded a double-double, scoring a game-high 22 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, while also dishing out three assists.

Decedric Sims, Keon Furtch and Marshall Carrell each scored 13 points for Paris. Furtch also had a double-double by grabbing 12 rebounds, while Carrell came close to a double-double, finishing with 13 points, eight boards and three blocks.

Paris (22-8, 8-2) clinched its second consecutive district championship and earns a first-round bye in the upcoming playoffs.

"To win (district), we knew we had to take care of business at home and play well enough on the road to win at least 3 of 5 games. Turns out we only lost one at home and one on the road," said Blassingame of his team's march to another district title.

Texas High (16-11, 6-4), which won at Paris earlier this season, could have clinched the top seed with a Tuesday night. The loss however, coupled with Mount Pleasant's win against Lindale, dropped the Tigers from second to third place behind Mount Pleasant (17-9, 6-4). While they both finished with identical district records, Mount Pleasant swept Texas High in district.

Texas High senior guard Leon Harris scored 20 points, but he only made 8 of 36 shots (22 percent).

"We knew (Harris) could be explosive. He can score a lot of ways, but we did a good job of not letting him get in a rhythm," Blassingame said. "I have to say we did a good job overall defensively against Texas High."

Van Grisson added 13 and also grabbed 10 rebounds for Texas High.

As a team, Paris made 26 of 58 shots (45 percent), compared to 24 of 72 for Texas High (33 percent). The Wildcats also out-rebounded the Tigers 46-31, including 19-17 on the offensive glass. About the only weakness in the Wildcats' game was at the free throw line, where they were 14 of 26 (54 percent), a statistic that was more glaring at halftime than at the end of the game.

Paris was 5 of 12 from the free throw line in the first half, which was the reason they led by only six points 28-22, despite out-playing the Tigers on both ends of the court.

Texas High's Harris nailed a three-pointer at the 7:05 mark of the first quarter to give his team the early lead. At the five-minute mark, Sims tied the game at 5-5 with a three-pointer. That was the only tie of the contest.

A layup by Texas High's Kerry Manning gave the Tigers their last lead at 8-7 with 4:23 left in the first. Paris' Jackson converted a three-point play at the 4:08 mark to put his team ahead by one and begin a 7-0 run that left the ’Cats ahead 12-7. A jumper by Jordan Fields ended the run.

Paris led 12-9 after one quarter and outscored Texas High 16-13 in the second quarter to lead 28-22 at halftime. Sims scored six points in that period to lead the way.

During the first minute of the third quarter, back-to-back baskets by Manning and Daniel Glover allowed the Tigers to pull to within two points at 28-26. After a basket by Jackson made it a four-point game, Glover knocked down a three-pointer at the 6:30 mark that left the Tigers trailing by one, 30-29.

The Tigers got no closer the rest of the game, as Paris went on a 14-0 run led by Carrell. The Wildcats' 6-7 senior had a steal, two putback baskets and a free throw during that run, leaving the Wildcats ahead 42-29 with a minute left in the third.

Paris led 48-37 entering the fourth, and Texas High cut their deficit to single-digits twice in the fourth, with the last time coming at the 3:57 mark when Harris knocked down a jumper off a turnover, then hit 1 of 2 free throws to leave his team trailing 56-48 with 3:57 remaining.

Paris answered with an 8-2 run, as Carrell hit two baskets, while Jackson and Sims combined to go 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Fields — who scored eight points, had six rebounds, four assists and three steals — also knocked down a couple of free throws in the fourth for Paris. The Wildcats made 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Texas High begins the playoffs by taking on the No. 2 seed from District 12-4A, while Mount Pleasant meets the No. 3 seed from that district.

In the area round next weekend, Paris will take on the bi-district winner between McKinney High (14-6, 8-6), District 9-4A's No. 3 seed, and District 10-4A's runner-up Terrell (17-12, 11-3).

In Tuesday night's junior varsity game, Texas High scored a 71-48 win. Kendall King led Paris with 13 points, while Westley Martin added eight for Paris.



Paris 12 16 20 21 — 69

Texas High 9 13 15 17 — 54

Paris (22-8, 8-2) — Decedric Sims 13, Jordan Fields 8, Keon Furtch 13, Courtney Jackson 22, Marshall Carrell 13. FT 14-26. Threes 1 (Sims), Field goals 26-58 (45 percent). Fouls 8. Turnovers 13. Rebounds 46 (Jackson 13, Furtch 12, Carrell 8, Fields 6). Assists 13 (Fields 4, Jackson 3, Sims 3). Steals 8 (Fields 3, Furtch 2).

Texas High (16-11, 6-4) — Leon Harris 20, Phillip Tolliver 2, Josh Grigson 4, Van Grisson 13, Kerry Manning 4, John Stilson 2, Daniel Glover 7, Brandon Lane 2 FT 3-4. Threes 3 (Harris 2, Glover). Fouls 20. Field goals 24-72. Rebounds 31 (Grisson 10). Assists 8 (Harris 3, Grisson 2). Steals 10 (Harris 5). Turnovers 14.

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BACK TO BACK

DISTRICT 11-4A CHAMPIONS

One to go

We travel to Texas High Tuesday for the last district game, and is it ever a big one. The winner will be the district champion and represent our district in the playoffs as the #1 seed. They beat us here in the first round 53-45 on a night that we didn't play very well. We have put together some good performances since then, and will need to play up to our potential in order to beat them at their place. They are a very good team and it is a tough place to play.

I can't wait!

Paris News article from Mt. Pleasant game 2/9

Wildcats clinch playoff berth

By Van Hilburn The Paris News

Published February 11, 2007

The Paris Wildcats got off to an almost perfect start and finished just as strong during Friday night's 59-44 victory against Mount Pleasant on Senior Night in Wildcat Gym.

Wildcat junior forward Courtney Jackson recorded a double-double, scoring a game-high 21 points, including four slam dunks in the first half, while also grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out three assists. Junior Keon Furtch followed with 19 points, including 16 in the second half, while also grabbing five rebounds.

Paris' two seniors, Marshall Carrell and Decedric Sims, also played key roles on both ends of the floor, along with junior Jordan Fields. Carrell recorded 10 points and grabbed five boards, Sims added seven points, four rebounds and five assists, while Fields had three key first half steals, and four total.

The Wildcats' defense held the Tigers in check during the first half, limiting Mount Pleasant to single-digit scoring in each of the first two quarters. The Tigers were only 1 of 8 (13 percent) from the floor in the second quarter and 5 of 19 in the first half (26 percent).

"They were ready to play. They knew how important this game was," said Paris coach Brock Blassingame of his team. "They knew that we controlled our own destiny and that winning this game was very important."

With the victory and the district sweep of Mount Pleasant, Paris (7-2, 21-6) clinched a playoff berth heading into Tuesday night's regular season finale at Texas High (6-3, 16-10), which beat Sulphur Springs, 63-53, to also earn a postseason spot.

Paris can win a second consecutive outright district title with a win on Tuesday, while a loss would leave the Wildcats as co-champs of District 11-4A and they will go into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed.

Mount Pleasant (5-4, 16-9) moved into third place all alone heading into its regular season finale against Lindale (1-8), which got its first district win on Friday, beating visiting North Lamar in overtime.

Trenston Hill and Carliss Robinson led the Tigers with nine points each, while Kevin Cheatum added eight points before fouling out early in the fourth quarter. He was one of two Tiger players to foul out in the final stanza, as Scooter Van Dyke exited with 2:04 left.

While they made only 52 percent of their free throws, the Wildcats were 22 of 36 from the floor, an impressive 61 percent. In the first half, they made 10 of 19 shots, and things simply got better in the second half, as they hit 12 of 17 attempts (71 percent). Paris also out-rebounded the Tigers 31-22.

Paris set the tone early against Mount Pleasant when Jackson took a feed from Fields down low and took it in for a slam dunk at the 7:47 mark of the first quarter. He scored again less than a minute later to give Paris a 4-0 lead. They never trailed in the game.

Mount Pleasant's Hill scored a basket with 4:55 left in the first to put the Tigers on the scoreboard, but Fields went coast-to-coast on a steal to put Paris back ahead by four at 6-2. Paris carried a 12-8 lead into the second quarter, but A Van Dyke basket at the 6:30 mark of the second trimmed that lead to two points.

Mount Pleasant did not score again in the period, as Paris scored the next 10 points to go into intermission leading 22-10. Jackson again led the second-half surge with seven points.

Paris led by as much as 18 points in the second half and maintained a double-digit lead for almost all of the final two periods. The only time the Tigers trimmed their deficit to single digits was in the third quarter when a three-pointer by Robinson with 6:10 left left them down by nine at 24-15. Back-to-back baskets from Carrell and Furtch gave the Wildcats a 28-15 lead and they went on to take a 40-27 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Furtch scored eight points in in the third period, while Carrell added two more baskets. Furtch started the fourth quarter with a slam and two free throws in the first minute, giving Paris a 45-27 advantage.

The Wildcats' junior varsity suffered a 57-53 loss to Mount Pleasant. Equittas Jenkins scored a game-high 17 points, while Denzel Harrison followed with 13 and Westley Martin added eight.



Mount Pleasant 8 2 17 17 — 44

Paris 12 10 18 19 — 59



Mount Pleasant (5-4, 16-9) — Trenston Hill 9, Cory Brannon 4, Tyetye Lewis 2, Kevin Cheatum 8, Carliss Robinson 9, Scooter Van Dyke 6, Darran Franklin 6. FT 3-2. Threes 3 (Hill, Brannon, Robinson). Fouls 19. Field goals 19-54. Turnovers 14. Rebounds 22 (Cheatum 5, Van Dyke 4).

Paris (7-2, 21-6) — Decedric Sims 7, Jordan Fields 2, Keon Furtch 19, Courtney Jackson 21, Marshall Carrell 10. FT 14-27, Threes 1 (Sims). Fouls 12. Field goals 22-36. Turnovers 19. Rebounds 31 (Jackson 12, Carrell 5, Furtch 5, Sims 4).

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Paris News article on the Sulphur Springs game

Wildcats get past SSHS

By Van Hilburn The Paris News

Published February 7, 2007

SULPHUR SPRINGS — Call this one a defensive battle with just enough offense to pull out the win, as the Paris Wildcats downed Sulphur Springs, 44-31, Tuesday night in District 11-4A basketball action.

Paris limited SSHS to single-digit scoring in three of the four quarters while outscoring them 17-6 in the fourth to pull out the victory. With their 20th win of the season, coupled with a 46-42 victory by North Lamar against Mount Pleasant, the Wildcats (20-6, 6-2) took over sole possession of first place in District 11-4A with two games remaining.

Courtney Jackson led Paris with 15 points, while Keon Furtch and Marshall Carrell added nine and eight, respectively.

Sulphur Springs held a 9-5 lead after one quarter, but Paris outscored its host 11-4 in the second quarter to carry a 16-13 advantage into halftime. Entering the fourth quarter, Paris led 27-25.

This league race appears headed down to the final game, as Sulphur Springs (19-8, 4-4) is tied for fourth with North Lamar (18-12, 4-4), while Mount Pleasant (16-8, 5-3) and Texas High (15-10, 5-3) are tied for second. Texas High defeated Lindale, 58-56, Tuesday night.

"We helped ourselves out tonight with this win, but we still have to remain focused and ready because of the two teams right behind us. We really don't have a cushion," said Paris coach Brock Blassingame.

Paris hosts Mount Pleasant on Friday and closes out the regular season on the road at Texas High.

The Wildcats' junior varsity suffered a 72-62 loss.



Paris 5 11 11 17 — 44

SSHS 9 4 12 6 — 31



Paris (20-6, 6-2) — Courtney Jackson 15, Keon Furtch 9, Marshall Carrell 8, Jordan Fields 4, Decedric Sims 4, Payton Carrell 2. FT 11-23. Threes 1 (Furtch). Fouls 9.

Sulphur Springs (19-7, 4-4) — Drew Biggerstaff 8, Colton Nash 6, Tyrik Rollison 6, Brad Washington 4, Aaron Williams 3, Ladarius Harrison 2. Fouls 19. Threes 3 (Biggerstaff 2, Williams). FT 4-4.

20 wins

We posted our 20th win on the season Tuesday night. It is the second season in a row that we have done so. That will not win a district championship or any playoff games, but it is still a great accomplishment for our program.

Two to go

We took over sole possession of first place with a win at Sulphur Springs Tuesday night and a Mt. pleasant loss at North Lamar. With two games to go we have a one game lead and in the position to control our own destiny. We have yet to clinch a playoff berth yet, but can do so with a win Friday night at home against Mt. Pleasant. Other possible scenarios:

1. If we win our remaining two games, we will be the district champions
2. With a win Friday and a Texas High loss, we will be district champions
3. A loss Friday and a win Tuesday at Texas High will set up a match up with them for the district championship if Texas High wins Friday.
4. A win Friday and a loss Tuesday will give us a tie for the district championship, but we will go as the number two seed.


Come out and support us Friday night against Mt. Pleasant and help us make a push for back to back district championships!

Paris News article on the North Lamar game on 2/3

http://theparisnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=d6a0f863c959c9f7

Wildcats win big in crosstown showdown

By Van Hilburn The Paris News

Published February 4, 2007

Paris Wildcat senior guard Decedric Sims nailed a 3-pointer the onset of the first quarter and the Wildcats never trailed, cruising to a 64-49 victory Saturday night against crosstown rivals North Lamar in a pivotal District 11-4A contest.

Before a packed house in Wildcat Gym, Paris held 20-point leads three times, including once in the fourth quarter, as North Lamar found itself playing catchup the entire night. The win avenged an earlier district loss to the Panthers.

"It's always important to set the tempo, especially tonight. We let them control the tempo and the game the last time we played them, so we wanted to establish our game early in this one," said Paris coach Brock Blassingame.

All but one of the eight Wildcats scored, led by Keon Furtch, who scored a game-high 20 points, while grabbing seven rebounds, getting three assists and two steals.

"That's what Keon does. Defending, rebounding and running the floor is what he does well," said Blassingame of Furtch. "We need for him to have good all-around games like that."

Junior Wildcat forward Courtney Jackson followed with 16 points, six boards and four assists for Paris, Sims scored 11 points, while senior post Marshall Carrell added six points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.

Junior guard Justin Collard led North Lamar with 12 points. He was the only Panther to score in double figures. Colt Holbert added nine.

With three-games remaining in the regular season, Paris (19-6, 5-2) moved into a two-way tie for first with Mount Pleasant heading into Tuesday night's game at Sulphur Springs. Mount Pleasant (16-7, 5-2) beat Texas High (14-10, 4-3), 57-50. North Lamar (17-12, 3-4) remains tied with Sulphur Springs (18-8, 3-4) heading into Tuesday night's game at home against Mount Pleasant.

The Wildcats set the tone early in the first quarter with Furtch leading the way. The 6-3 junior forward scored nine of his 20 points in the opening stanza, while grabbing Paris' first four rebounds. He converted a three-point play at the 4:26 mark of the period to give his team an 8-4 lead, and he later took a feed inside from Jackson to put Paris ahead 14-8.

A three-pointer by Justin Miller at the 1:30 mark of the first quarter made it a three-point game at 14-11. Paris closed out the period on a 5-0 run, as Jackson hit a free throw, got a slam off the break, and knocked down a jumper with three seconds left to send the Wildcats into the second quarter holding a 19-11 lead.

Paris' eight-point lead grew to 14 early in the second quarter courtesy of baskets from Jackson, Jordan Fields and two free throws by Furtch.

Holbert ended the Wildcats' 11-0 run and a 5 1/2 minute scoring drought by his team when he knocked down a shot at the 4:30 mark of the second quarter. The Panthers were unable to trim the deficit to single digits by halftime, as they misfired in the lane on two possessions.

"In the second quarter, we missed a bunch of easy shots right at the rim. We basically were missing layups," said North Lamar coach Billy Mack Steed. "Then we couldn't hit free throws."

Jackson nailed a shot at the buzzer to give his team a 33-18 advantage at intermission.

Paris made 21 of 44 shots from the field (48 percent), while North Lamar was 16 of 39 (41 percent). The Wildcats also won the battle on the boards, out-rebounding the Panthers 36-24, including 10-5 on the offensive end.

"Paris did a great job on the board. They pounded us on the boards. Then when we did get the ball inside in the second half, they blocked a lot of shots," added Steed. "Paris did a good job in this one, and we didn't do a good job."

Turnovers were also key, as the Panthers committed 19, and the Wildcats 16. Ten of North Lamar's turnovers came in the first half.

In the second half, Paris continue its aggressive play, as Furtch scored on a runner, then Sims stole an inbound pass and scored, giving the Wildcats a 37-18 lead with 6:26 remaining in the third. A basket by Holbert and two free throws by Collard allowed the Panthers to cut their deficit to 14 points at the end of the third quarter, as they entered the fourth trailing 43-29.

That was the closest North Lamar would get, as most of the fourth quarter was a game of free throws.

Paris was 19 of 34 for the game from the line, while North Lamar was 11 of 23.

Paris High's junior varsity defeated North Lamar 56-46, led by Equittas Jenkins and Wesley Martin, who scored 20 and 19 points, respectively. North Lamar was led by Sinjin Smith Smith's 20 points. Logan Parson added seven.

North Lamar 11 7 11 20 — 49

Paris 19 14 10 21 — 64

North Lamar (17-12, 3-4) — Colt Holbert 9, Qualon Fort 5, Brett Melton 6, Justin Collard 12, Justin Thomas 6, Justin Miller 4, Patrick Thomas 2. FT 11-23. Threes 2 (Miller 2). Fouls 24.

Paris (19-6, 5-2) — Decedric Sims 11, Jordan Fields 4, Keon Furtch 20, Courtney Jackson 16, Marshall Carrell 6, Payton Carrell 5. FT 19-34. Threes 1 (Sims). Fouls 21.

What a race!

The district season is well under way, and we are right in the mix, which is good. However, so is everyone else! This district is very competitive and will without a doubt come down to the last night of the season.

Current Standings:

Mt. Pleasant 5-2
Paris 5-2
Sulphur Springs 4-3
Texas High 4-3
North Lamar 3-4
Lindale 0-7

The remaining schedule has us going to Sulphur Springs, Mt. Pleasant at home, and at Texas High. It will be a tough task but if we play well I like our chances, which is exactly what everyone else has to be thinking at this point.