Wylie senior Isaiah Shurn shoots the ball over the hand of Duncanville junior Jirehn Mitchell during a Class 6A Division I area-round playoff game from Creekview High School last Friday. Photo by Maddie Smith / C&S Media
By Art Stricklin
CARROLLTON – Playing with a style and an aggression well suited for traffic on Highway 78 on a busy day, the highflying Duncanville Panthers ended the season of the Wylie boys’ basketball team, 70-56 at Creekview High School Friday night.
The Panthers used a combination of three-pointers, emphatic dunks and steals which never let up to end the Pirates’ season with a 26-12 record.
“I was proud of our kids, I thought we played hard tonight, but we were a little shell shocked by the style (of Duncanville). It’s not what we are used to,” Wylie head coach Stephen Pearce said.
With five state titles, including a mythical national title in 2023, Duncanville came into the game ranked sixth in the state and improved its record to 22-7.
Wylie, which never led, had a chance to take control of the scoreboard just before halftime, and wound up trailing by one point at the break.
Their best chance came late in the third quarter.
Junior guard Chase Hughes hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 38-36 with 2:01 left in the quarter. Wylie then rebounded a Duncanville miss and came down the court with a chance to tie or take the lead. But when the Pirates got the ball in the front court it was promptly stolen by the Panthers defense who came down and hit a corner two to increase their lead to four points.
Wylie never got any closer and Duncanville closed the third quarter and opened the fourth with a 14-2 run.
“They made some plays, and we didn’t,” said Pearce. “You have to give them some credit and we didn’t play our best game.”
Senior guard Noah Mallory led all Wylie scorers with 25 points in the game, the only Pirate in double figures. TCU commit Bugg Edwards led Duncanville with 26 points, 21 after halftime.
Duncanville had built its reputation as one of the top teams in North Texas with its aggressive, fast breaking style and they didn’t waste much time in the area playoff game.
The Panthers took the opening tip and passed it out for a three-pointer with less than 10 seconds gone from the first quarter clock. They eventually took an 11-0 lead with a forceful slam dunk, but just as they have all year long, Wylie came roaring back.
They scored the next six points and while they trailed 17-6 after the first quarter the comeback was just getting underway.
In the second quarter, the Pirates put on a charge with a pair of three pointers of their own and closed the deficit to 24-23 after a Mallory 3-pointer with 1:14 left in the half. The Pirates had a chance to take the lead before halftime but came up short and trailed by a single point at halftime.
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