2015 TEXAS INVITATIONAL: Atascocita Keeps Title; Duncanville Turns Back Clock

2015 TEXAS INVITATIONAL: Atascocita Keeps Title; Duncanville Turns Back Clock
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(Top) Atascocita's Carsen Edwards and Lancaster's Ike Durham battle for control of the basketball; (bottom) Duncanville's Zarielle Green (00) drives to the basket.
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The showcase game of the 2015 McDonald’s Texas Invitational on Saturday night at Phillips Field House was a genuine clash of titans – one in which patience proved as valuable as tenacity.

The Atascocita boys saw an early lead vanish, crawled back on top and then weathered the icy tempo of a decisive and dramatic fourth quarter en route to a 54-47 victory over Lancaster and a successful defense of their 2014 Texas Invitational crown. ­­­

Atascocita guard Carsen Edwards, voted the tournament’s most valuable player, scored a key bucket with 3:34 remaining that brought an end to slow-down tactics by both teams that had eaten up nearly three minutes on the clock.

Immediately after Edwards’ bucket, teammate Devin Harrison swiped the Lancaster inbounds pass and fed it to Matt Willrodt for a layup and a 47-40 Eagles lead -- too much for the Tigers, the defending Class 5A state champion, to overcome.

Atascocita, regarded by many as the state’s top Class 6A team, became the first team since Kingwood in 2006 to successfully defend its boys tournament title.

The winner on the girls side knows more about defending Texas Invitational titles than any team on the planet. Duncanville, which had a streak of three straight Texas Invitational championships snapped last year, overpowered North Shore, the 2014 champion, 75-49.

Senior post Ciera Johnson scored 23 points for Duncanville, which raced to an 11-0 lead and didn’t surrender a point until the game was almost six minutes old.

The Pantherettes led 19-4 at the end of the first quarter, then bumped their lead to 25 points at the half and 35 by the end of the third quarter.

Johnson scored 17 of her points in the first half. Teammate Zarielle Green added 16 points in the game, half of which came in the first quarter.

The boys game packed all the drama lacking in the girls game.

Atascocita jumped out to a 13-4 lead and was still up eight at the end of the first quarter. But Lancaster fought back and took a 24-23 lead with 4:40 to go in the half. The game was deadlocked 29-29 at halftime.

The third quarter stayed tight with Atascocita opening a slight edge, at 43-38, with the help of dunk by Fabian White near the end of the quarter.

One minute into the fourth quarter, Lancaster’s Martravious Price scored to cut the Eagles’ lead to 43-40. Atascocita then responded with a stall that ate up a full minute -- and Lancaster followed with a one-minute stall of its own. 

Finally, Price missed, Atascocita got the ball and a bucket from Edwards – followed by the steal and Willrodt’s layup.

Another bucket by Edwards helped the Eagles build a 50-41 lead with just 1:12 left. In all, Lancaster scored just one point over a fourth-quarter span stretching more than six minutes.

Edwards finished with 12 points, as did White. Willrodt led all scorers with 15. Deon Barrett and Jacolby Pemberton paced Lancaster with 13 each.

Pasadena ISD teams completed the tournament’s final day with a few bragging points.

The Dobie boys took third place in the Division 2 Gold Bracket with a 73-36 rout of Clear Falls.

The South Houston boys, the first district team ever chosen to play in Division 1, shook off an 0-4 start in the tournament to beat C.E. King, 65-46, in a consolation third-place game.

The Rayburn boys defeated Memorial in a Division 2 consolation third-place game.

The Pasadena boys, who made the championship game in Division 2 Bronze, lost to Fort Bend Austin, 54-49.

The only Pasadena ISD winner on the girls side on Saturday was Pasadena, which beat South Houston in a consolation game before losing to La Porte for the consolation title.


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(Left) Lancaster's Martravious Price goes in for a layup; (right) Atascocita's Fabian White drops the ball into the basket.

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Lancaster's Ike Durham brings the ball up while Atascocita's Greg Shead (11) falls back to avoid a foul.

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Lancaster's Deon Barrett pushed a shot over Fabian White.

 

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Lancaster Coach Ferrin Douglas speaks to his players during the third-quarter break.

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Duncanville Coach Cathy Self-Morgan talks to her players during a timeout.

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(Left) Duncanville's Ciera Johnson pulls down a rebound; (right) Pantherette Madison Townley puts up a shot as North Shore's Alyssa Okoene defends.

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(Left) Duncanville's Rosie Davis (14) blocks the path of Madisyn Francis (21) near the top of the key; (right) Duncanville's Chrineisha Davis shows her intensity while guarding North Shore's Chasity Patterson.




 

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