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Them's the breaks: Untimely plays sink Plano to another one-win district run
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
It took the Plano Senior boys basketball team 317 days into 2012 to record their first win of the year.
There wasn't much victory to be had for the Wildcats during a six-win 2011-12 campaign and, although the recent season produced double that figure, another spot in the district cellar was all that awaited Plano in the end.
"We didn't have a whole lot of experience coming back and we hadn't won a ton the season before," said Phil Parlin, former Plano head coach. "We put the expectations at competing for the playoffs and thought we had some really good talent to do that."
"I think that was important," Parlin said. "That gave us some confidence and granted, the competition we played wasn't totally at the level of what we would see in district, I think it was important to set a winning mindset for these guys."
It paid off to some degree as Plano rode an 11-11 non-district mark into its 10-5A opener against Plano East. What unfolded was the Panthers' toughest test of district, as the Wildcats took the eventual 10-5A champs down to the wire before falling, 50-49, after a turnover inside the game's final five seconds led to East senior Jarvis Pugh sinking a free throw with 0.9 seconds remaining.
"There was an unbelievable crowd and a great environment," Parlin said. "Our guys really came to play and wanted that one. We battled them right to the end and had a great shot to win, but East capitalized.
"I had hoped that game gave us some momentum in showing that we could play with the best team in the district."
Instead, it was the first of three heartbreaking setbacks on the Wildcats' home court.
Plano West followed suit Feb. 1 in another game played nip-and-tuck until the end with a chance to trim the Wolves' lead to one point late going awry to spell an eventual 60-54 defeat. Things weren't any easier four days later against Allen, where the Wildcats fell victim to an and-1 inside the game's final five seconds for a 48-45 loss.
"There were three or four plays in three games that unfortunately ended up defining how our season went record-wise," Parlin said. "It didn't reflect how hard we played or the character of these kids, who stuck together the whole time."
What joy there was to be had could be found Jan. 22 when the Wildcats upended McKinney, 71-67, for their first district win since Dec. 20, 2011.
"We were 0-3 at the time and I thought we handled [McKinney's] pressure real well," Parlin said. "We had a really good third quarter and built up a big lead in the second half that we held onto."
It would be the last time the Wildcats tasted victory all season, sinking to 1-9 overall in 10-5A. Parlin attributed inconsistency and the team's inability to establish a third scoring option as primary downfalls, with the bulk of the offensive onus shouldered by senior Dustin Bercutt (11.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, first team all-district) and junior Broderick Perkins (9.5 points, 2.5 assists, second team all-district).
"I'm real proud of what Dustin did," Parlin said. "He deserved his first-team all-district spot and came up huge for us this year. He's come such a long way and Broderick took on a big leadership role for us as well and improved so much from his sophomore year."
Bercutt was one of six seniors to spend his final season donning the maroon and white in 2012-13 with seniors Teekay Biti, Fred Williams, Sheldon O'Neal, Raivon Smith and Ryan White also set to graduate.
Perkins headlines the offseason slate of returners.
Junior Austin Evans and sophomore Jason Bardgett are also slated to see expanded roles as Plano preps for 2013-14. They'll do so without Parlin, however, who was relieved of his duties as Plano head coach after completing his fifth year on the job.
"This was my dream job," Parlin said. "We had a couple good runs in there and played in some incredibly tough districts, but I'm just very appreciative of the opportunity I was given and I wish I could have done more. I hate to see it come to an end."
For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.
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