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Boys basketball: Hebron outlasts Flower Mound, grabs control of District 5-5A
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
FLOWER MOUND — With the shots not falling early, Hebron’s boys basketball team hit the offensive glass to gain a quick advantage Tuesday against Flower Mound.
In the end, it was that persistence that kept its perfect District 5-5A record intact.
An and-one off an offensive rebound with 1:04 remaining by Tyler Williams provided the go-ahead points for the Hawks, who outlasted the Jaguars on the road, 60-54, a tightly contested contest that saw Hebron take control in district.
Hebron previously defeated Flower Mound on Jan. 11, 76-36.
“When you’re dealing with young kids, they think ‘well, we beat them bad the first time’,” said Mark Bishop, Hebron head coach. “ So it can be hard to convince them that when you are on the road, and teams are prepared for you, it’s going to be tough. Add that Flower Mound is a very good team and can really shoot the ball. Maybe now we can convince them and move forward. But if you get the win, you always feel better going to practice the next day.”
Trailing by three, Flower Mound had one last gasp but a 3-pointer from Jake Feickert bounced off the rim. The Hawks then put the game away with 7.3 seconds left on the ensuing inbounds pass when Chase Mortenson found Jeff Hicks streaking behind the defense for another and-one and the final margin.
“We’re never satisfied with losing and we came here to win,” said Jason Fossett, Flower Mound head coach. “The kids are upset and I’m upset. But I am proud of the way competed. Hebron’s a good basketball team, but I think we showed tonight that we’re pretty good, too.”
Hicks recorded a team-high 15 points, including nine in the second half, while Williams matched Ridge Shipley with 14 points to go with nine rebounds.
Connor McClenaghan chipped in 12 points for Hebron on 6-of-7 shooting, while Mortenson pulled down nine boards. For the game, Hebron held a 37-26 rebounding advantage.
“We got away from [playing inside] in the second quarter and started relying on our outside shots and they weren’t falling,” Bishop said. “I think we made 3-of-15 in the first half and we don’t usually shoot that many. But we made a goal to go back inside in the second half and I think that was effective.”
For Flower Mound, Feickert’s game-tying attempt was about all he missed. The guard scored a game-high 18 points in a variety of ways, whether it be from distance, getting in the lane or in transition.
Feickert’s final two hoops cut a 50-43 Hebron lead down to three. Moments later, Flower Mound’s Ryan Reibly connected with Justin Gammill for one of two second-half 3-pointers to tie the contest before a finger-roll by Reibly gave Flower Mound its first lead since midway through the third quarter.
But Hebron’s Ridge Shipley overcame his early shooting woes to knot the contest, 54-54, on a fading jumper from the top of the key setting the stage for Williams’ go-ahead hoop.
After starting the contest 2-of-8, Shipley hit 3-of-5 in the second half and also contributed four rebounds and four assists.
“Anybody that plays Hebron is going to focus on [Shipley],” Fossett said. “He’s the engine that makes the car go. I thought we did a good job, but he hit a couple of big shots down the stretch when they needed them.”
The Hawks held a 17-10 lead after one quarter and earned their biggest lead of the night at 25-13 following a bucket by Shipley via Mortenson.
Flower Mound responded though and entered the break with a 1-point lead after closing with a 13-0 surge. Brandon Langley hit three of his five 3-pointers in the run and the Jaguars had assists on 4-of-5 field goals.
The contest was knotted on five occasions during the third quarter before Hebron grabbed a 3-point lead entering the fourth. That lead would reach seven before going down to the wire.
Hebron continues at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Lewisville, while Flower Mound looks to rebound at the same time at home against Marcus.
“We always say that the second half is when everything happens,” Bishop said. “We talk about being 0-0 and starting the half off fresh and see if we can continue to have positive outcomes. We definitely feel good about getting out of here with a win.”
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