The Cooldown: Week 17
After a quick winter break post-football season, The Cooldown is back to recap the week that was in hoops action, now through the state championships. We have a lot to catch up on, so let’s dive in.
Seven Lakes wins a thriller against Cinco Ranch
Seven Lakes has been a mainstay in the statewide top 25 the past few seasons, and this year is no different. At 22-5 (6-2), the Spartans check in at No. 15 in the state this week, but they needed a close win against Cinco Ranch (21-4, 5-2) to keep that ranking.
Seven Lakes beat Cinco Ranch 68-66 in what was another tight district contest. Both of the Spartans district losses came by three points or less; now they’ve got a close win to add to that. District 19-6A is one of the better districts in the state, with Katy Jordan also state ranked, and Katy, Paetow and Cinco Ranch also competitive.
It was a balanced attack for Seven Lakes, with four players in double figures. Dean Spencer led the way with 15 points, while Sean Mwesigwa’s 13 points included a game-winning putback. Isaiah Santos and AmenEl Tadesse had 10 points apiece and Tillman Jaramillo chipped in nine points.
Cinco Ranch has been led by brothers Dylan Jones-Bynum and Prince Jones-Bynum all season. Dylan had 26 points in this game while Prince added 13 – the only Cougar scorers above six points.
This week’s slate includes a midweek home game against Katy and a weekend trip to Katy Taylor for Seven Lakes. The Spartans previously beat Katy 67-56 in the district opener, and beat Taylor 87-45 in their first go-round.
The next two weeks could decide much of what happens at the top of the 19-6A playoff picture. Seven Lakes gets Jordan at home and Paetow on the road – the two teams who account for the Spartans’ two district losses. Add in the game against Katy this week, and the only other potential pitfall should be Cinco Ranch in the season finale.
If the TABC rankings hold true, this will come down to the rematch between Jordan and Seven Lakes, the only two teams in 19-6A in the statewide top 25. At 23-2, Jordan ranks No. 8 in the state.
Stafford continues unbeaten start with a romp of Crawford
Stafford may be the most impressive hoops team in the area this season. At 25-0, the Spartans are still just No. 4 in the state, behind a trio of five-loss teams. Without looking up their schedules (because none of them are in the Houston area), I’d venture to guess a majority, if not all of those 15 combined losses, came against higher level competition.
But this isn’t about them, it’s about Stafford. It doesn’t matter what level you play at, ripping off 25-straight W’s is quite the accomplishment. That streak continued in blowout fashion against the newest school in the area, Fort Bend Crawford.
Damian Jung powered Stafford to a 84-56 win with a double-double – 18 points, 10 rebounds. D’Marion Ware added 17 points of his own, while Skyler Holt (16 points) and Roosevelt Hawkins (13 points) were also in double figures. Dominic Young didn’t finish in double-digits in anything, but still nearly had a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.
Stafford has played two close-ish games this year: a three-point win against Los Fresnos on Dec. 7, and an 81-65 win against Worthing on Dec. 11. Stafford even beat 6A Conroe by 20 points. If my not-so-great math skills are correct, the Spartans have won every other game by at least 20 points, and the vast majority of their wins have come by at least 30 points.
While they should cruise through the rest of the regular season and the early portion of the playoffs, Stafford will eventually have to face several top 10 teams. Washington (5), Yates (6), Wheatley (8) and La Marque (9) are all ranked in the top 10. However, Silsbee is No. 12 in the state and Stafford previously beat Silsbee 92-50.
Even though the Spartans still somehow can’t crack the top three in the state (at least in the minds of the TABC), I’ll be very interested to see if Stafford can advance to state, and what a showdown with Dallas Kimball or Dallas Carter would look like.
Dawson girls take down Manvel
The Dawson girls are in the midst of another great season. At 24-4, the Eagles rank No. 13 in the state, and play in a tough district that features rival Pearland, ranked No. 14.
Manvel isn’t state ranked, but the Mavs still hold an impressive 21-7 record. Dawson still handled them last Tuesday, 63-50.
The Eagles got most of their points from four players in double figures. Kendall Ford racked up 17 points and 15 rebounds. Journey Lovett also tallied 17 points. Jaycee Ingram joined Ford in the double-double club with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Mia Barre chipped in 11 points and four assists.
The Eagles will face Dobie on the road and Pasadena Memorial at home this week. Dawson won the first round of those games by at least 60 points. The real test comes next week in games against Shadow Creek and Pearland — those games will determine the order of the top of the district standings come season’s end.
Dawson won round one of each of those games: a 5-point win against Pearland and a 15-point win against Shadow Creek. Those three and Manvel should be the playoff teams.
Players of the Week
Speaking of Pearland, my girls player-of-the-week helped propel the Oilers to two wins last week. Eliece Perry came a rebound short of consecutive double-doubles in wins against Shadow Creek and South Houston. She recorded 12 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks against Shadow Creek, and followed that performance up with 12 points and nine rebounds against South Houston.
My boys player-of-the-week led his team in scoring for two district wins last week. Cy Springs is treading water in a three-way tie for first in the district with Cy Ranch and Cy Park, so the wins against Waller and Cy Lakes were needed.
Royal Mayfield led the Panthers in scoring with 15 points in the win against Waller and 16 points in the win against Cy Lakes. Mayfield and Perry are my players-of-the-week!
Statewide Rankings
Here’s how the Houston area stacks up in the 6A statewide rankings: (5) Shadow Creek, (8) Katy Jordan, (13) Atascocita, (15) Seven Lakes, (17) Bellaire, (20) Travis, (21) Grand Oaks and (23) Ridge Point.
Class 5A features (2) Fort Bend Marshall, (17) Friendswood, (18) Iowa Colony and (25) Barbers Hill. The class 4A rankings include (4) Stafford, (5) Booker T. Washington, (6) Yates, (8) Wheatley, (9) La Marque and (15) Huffman Hargrave. Hitchcock is the lone team ranked in class 3A at No. 3.
Here’s how the class 6A girls stack up in the statewide rankings: (3) Cy Springs, (4) Clear Brook, (12) Hightower, (13) Dawson, (14) Pearland, (17) Grand Oaks, (19) Clear Creek and (20) Alief Taylor.
The class 5A rankings feature (22) Barbers Hill and (24) Fort Bend Marshall. Wheatley (No. 11) is lone team ranked in class 4A, and Tidehaven (No. 11) and Hitchcock (No. 18) are ranked in class 3A.