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Panthers D-light in fourth: D-vour McKinney Boyd for 36-28 win
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
For three quarters, the Plano East and McKinney Boyd boys basketball teams were mirror images.
The fourth was a different story as the defense of the No. 4 state-ranked Panthers took center stage and commandeered a 36-28 win to stave off the upset-minded Broncos.
"I've told these guys since day one that defense is what keeps you in games when the offense is struggling," said Jeff Clarkson, East head coach. "They did a great job down the stretch."
"We were up 28-25 and from that point, we either fouled them or turned the ball over," said Nathaniel Christian, Boyd head coach. "You've got to be able to execute against a team like that. They're one of the best teams in the area."
The Broncos committed eight turnovers in the fourth after surrendering the ball just eight times total over the three previous frames.
East cashed in on the other end, with senior Patrick Birt chipping in plenty down the stretch. On a night when the East offense couldn't buy a bucket, Birt lifted the unit by scoring six of East's 11 fourth-quarter points. He added three steals in the final stanza and dished out an assist to senior David Havala for a 34-28 lead with 45 seconds remaining.
Birt finished with a game-high 12 points, four rebounds and three steals.
"[Birt is] so good at getting to the basket and he's so strong," Clarkson said. "He got to the line and knocked them down. He did a really good job there and also did well on defense."
East senior Xavier Smith put an exclamation point on the victory with a wide-open fastbreak dunk in the game's closing seconds.
Looks of that ease were tough to come for the majority of the night, with Tuesday resulting in the lowest scoring output for both teams. By that same token, it was also the fewest points allowed by the Panthers and the fourth-fewest yielded by the Broncos.
"We just couldn't get anything going consistently on offense," Clarkson said. "We were getting good shots and getting to the line, but we just couldn't get away from them."
"We did a good job (on defense)," Christian added. "I thought the guys executed the defensive game plan to a T. We just have to be able to execute the offensive part of it."
The Panthers held Boyd to five baskets in the first half but could only counter with six makes of their own. The result was a 19-15 lead at halftime, highlighted by a 7-2 run from the Panthers to close the second quarter that featured an and-1 by senior Marcus Mathieu, who scored 11 points and added three steals for East.
Boyd responded with a 14-8 outpouring in the third.
A well-placed back screen set up senior Mikel Parish, who scored six points, for a layup and 21-20 Boyd lead. Junior Taber McFadden expanded that margin to 28-25 by scoring an and-1 after a steal. McFadden led the Broncos with seven points, although his and-1 -- scored with 27 seconds left in the third -- would be the Broncos' final points of the contest as East remained unbeaten in district with the 36-28 triumph.
"They hit us with the back screen a couple times and after the third quarter, we took that away," Clarkson said. "We rebounded the ball well, got some steals and a couple defensive changes. It was really good."
Winless in 10-5A after losing just three non-district games, Boyd tries to right the ship when hosting McKinney at 7:30 p.m. Friday. East is at home versus Plano West at the same time.
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