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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