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Constant pressure: Defense lifts Heritage past Centennial in district battle
BY CHRIS O'DELL, codell@starlocalnews.com
FRISCO -- Heritage never made it a secret how much intensity it wanted to exert on defense during Friday night's district showdown against Centennial.
The Coyotes used constant pressure, including a full-court press for the entire game, to earn a 49-36 home victory.
"Putting pressure on the ball is what we've been trying to do all year," said David Williams, Heritage head coach.
"The one thing about Centennial is they play that zone so well," Williams said. "They always have a chance to win no matter who they're playing because of that defense."
The Titans, who fell into a three-way tie for fifth place in District 9-4A with the loss, scored just five points in the first eight minutes of the game and found themselves trailing by four entering the second frame.
The two teams went back-and-forth for a majority of the second and were knotted at 20-20 before Heritage sophomore forward Jordan Marshall scored on a layup with just 15 seconds left in the half to give the Coyotes a 22-20 lead entering the break.
"We were tentative in the first half," Williams said. "We just got a little nervous after some of the things we worked on weren't going our way."
The Coyotes came out of the locker room with the same tenacity they displayed in the opening half and grabbed a six-point lead after junior guard Jordan Box converted an easy layup following a Centennial turnover in the backcourt.
"I thought we were a lot more calm in the second half," Williams said. "We finally settled down a little bit."
After Heritage built the 26-20 lead with 5:45 remaining in the third, the Titans stormed back with a quick 6-0 run that was capped by a jumper from senior Ross Spain, who had a rough night shooting the ball. Spain, who has led the Titans in scoring the past two games, was held to just five points and two over the final three quarters.
Meanwhile, it was an offense by committee approach for Heritage, who had four starters end the game with exactly 10 points. Box joined junior guard Jordan Corbitt, senior forward Braxton Stein and sophomore forward Wesley Franklin in double figures.
"We've tried to preach that from Day 1 to our kids," Williams said. "If everyone is a threat to score, we will be hard to beat."
After Spain tied the game at 26-26 with 1:45 remaining in the third, each team traded buckets before Marshall drilled a corner 3-pointer with just seven seconds left on the clock to give the Coyotes a 31-28 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Although Centennial would stay within reach for the first half of the fourth, the Coyotes eventually pulled away and left no doubt about the outcome.
Stein scored on an easy layup with 2:15 left in regulation to begin a 12-2 Heritage run that would end in a 49-36 victory for the home team.
The run was largely fueled by the team's consistency at the charity stripe. The Coyotes sank all eight free-throw attempts in the game, with all eight coming in the final frame.
"Finally it paid off for us," Williams said. "That's something we've worked on all year and it's something that can win you games."
Heritage will now look to even its district mark with an 8 p.m. home contest against Prosper on Tuesday.
Centennial will try to rebound with a tough road matchup against first-place Little Elm at the same time.
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