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Hicks and go: Guard leads Hebron into 5A Region I Final
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
FORT WORTH -- For the fourth consecutive season, an LISD boys basketball team will be playing for a spot in the UIL Class 5A State Tournament.
Hebron -- ranked second in the state -- moved one step away from clinching a spot in the final four Friday, knocking off North Crowley, 55-37, in a Region I semifinal at the Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center.
Hebron (36-2) won its 33rd consecutive game and advances to face South Grand Prairie at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Warriors (No. 4) knocked off Arlington Martin in the first half of the doubleheader, 56-28.
As it often did down the stretch of its District 5-5A campaign, Hebron got past the Panthers on the strength of its stifling defense, which harassed North Crowley into 15 turnovers and 30 percent shooting from the field. The Hawks, meanwhile, committed just four turnovers in the final three quarters and eight for the night.
Offensively, Jeff Hicks posted a game-high 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting for Hebron, including both of his 3-pointers. Hicks' performance made up for an off-night shooting from Ridge Shipley, who converted 1-of-8 from the field for seven points.
"[Shipley's game] didn't put pressure on me, I just knew I had to step up," Hicks said. "We're both shooters and when [Ridge] is off, others have to get it going and I was that guy tonight."
Leading by nine early in the fourth, Hebron displayed its resiliency when a driving hoop by Tyler Williams was ruled as a charge. But rather than let the Panthers creep closer, the Hawks forced consecutive steals resulting in a 3-pointer and layup from Hicks to give Hebron what was then its largest lead of the night at 40-26.
"Jeff's been a sparkplug all year," Bishop said. "He does so many things. He played great defense tonight and got some big buckets offensively."
Williams helped extend a four-point halftime lead to as many as 10 in the third quarter, where he recorded six points to go with a pair of assists before finishing with 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
As a team, Hebron had 10 assists on its 16 field goal makes.
"We really don't worry about scoring," Hicks said. "We want to play team ball and play together. When we make a nice pass, it's really big for us."
The Hawks also took advantage of the free throw line, where they converted 19 of their first 20 attempts.
"If you're going to be in the playoffs, you have to make free throws," Bishop said. "And turnovers are always key and we cut those down in the second half. [North Crowley is] a pressing team and if you don't turn it over, that gives you a good chance to score because they rely on their defense."
The squads were involved in a grind-it-out first half that saw Hebron carry a 19-15 lead to the break.
Scoreless for the first 14 minutes, Shipley got on the board with an and-1 set up by Williams getting on the floor for a loose ball sparking the break. The hoop was part of an 8-0 spurt where the Hawks took their first lead since holding a 7-3 margin midway through the first quarter.
The early lead quickly vanished behind the shooting of the Panthers, who made 3-of-4 from distance to open the contest. However, North Crowley would shoot just 2-of-14 for three the rest of the way.
While Shipley missed his first four field goals, he helped in other ways, setting up Connor McLenaghan at the rim with lobs for two of Hebron's first three buckets. Hicks provided the other with a corner three as Hebron went up early.
North Crowley was making its sixth consecutive trip to the regional tourney, but each of its past three journeys ended with losses to LISD programs (Marcus in 2011 and 2012).
Hebron, meanwhile, moves on to face a South Grand Prairie team that knocked the Hawks out in the third round last season.
"They're really good," Bishop said. "They're big, they're athletic and they defend. And they have some shooters, too. They're a real strong team, but we've been playing their district pretty well."
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