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Rout-lett: Eagles thump Cardinals in tourney semis
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
ALLEN -- The Rowlett boys basketball train is surging full speed ahead and John Paul II wasn't exactly a roadblock in Friday's semifinal tilt at the Allen Classic.
The Eagles imposed their will from the opening tip and didn't look back in handing the Cardinals a 60-43 defeat to remain unbeaten on the season.
"It's a good win for us," said Stan Blackmon, Rowlett head coach. "We want to keep improving each night. This is a senior-laden team and I shouldn't have to talk to a group like that about what's going on on the floor.
Seventy seconds into the game, Rowlett senior Austin Luke sunk a 3-pointer for a 3-0 advantage and set the tone for the evening,
The Eagles rained down shots at a heavy repetition, attacking John Paul from beyond the arc, off the dribble and on the glass. None proved more efficient than Luke, who added four more 3-pointers in the first half to his game-high 19 points, including a perfect 5-of-5 shooting through two quarters. Those makes came from long distance, none further than a buzzer-beater that banked in after covering two-thirds of the court for a 34-14 lead at halftime.
"[Luke] can light it up when he's on," Blackmon said. "He's a big assists guy and he'll try to get it through the eye of a needle no matter what. I told him to cut down on the high-risk, low-return passes and limit the turnovers, and you'll be fine."
Turnovers proved problematic for the Cardinals, especially early.
Operating shorthanded on Friday, John Paul's offense rode the shoulders of senior Chandler Malone, whose ability to attack off the dribble was put into practice plenty in the first quarter. Malone led the Cardinals with 16 points, while senior Jason Martin chipped in eight and junior Colton Shearer added five.
"[Rowlett is] a good team with a bunch of good players," said Jacob Anderson, John Paul head coach. "They came out ready for a fight and we didn't, bottom line. They took it to us right from the start."
Shots were tough to come by against the towering Rowlett defense and the Cardinals made an effort to limit the Eagles' touches by slowing down the pace in the first.
"We had the lead, so I told the kids just to be patient and let them pass it around," Blackmon said. "They'll stall it for you, so don't get overaggressive and try to make something happen."
"[Rowlett] scores the basketball really well," Anderson added. "You saw that with [Luke] hitting five 3s. They have a bunch of different weapons and the idea is to limit their possessions and their chances to score."
That blueprint was scuttled thanks to five John Paul turnovers and the end result was a 17-6 deficit after one quarter, with all six Cardinals points scored by Malone.
Martin chipped in six points in the second, but the artillery was unloaded by the Eagles as well. That came most notably on the glass, where senior Nathan Hawkins bagged five rebounds -- three offensive -- in the quarter alone to pace his 10-point, 10-board effort. As a team, the Eagles outrebounded John Paul, 21-13, with 16 of those divvied up between Hawkins and senior Jeffrey Carroll, who added 13 points and three steals.
Leading at the break, 34-14, Rowlett slowed down its pace in the third, but the efficiency didn't falter with Carroll and Hawkins each converting and-1 opportunities following offensive rebounds.
John Paul managed to capitalize on the staggered pace by outscoring Rowlett, 14-12, in the third thanks to forcing four turnovers plus seven points from Malone and five from Shearer. The deficit never crept below 15 points though and grew as large as 56-35 late in the fourth after both teams emptied their respective benches.
"We needed a complete team effort tonight," Anderson said. "When you play a team this talented, it can't just be one guy; it takes all 12."
The Cardinals' setback came one night after claiming a 66-51 decision over Waco Midway while the Eagles turned away Mesquite Horn, 72-64, in the quarterfinals.
John Paul II resumes play Tuesday at 8 p.m. when it hosts Dallas Roosevelt.
For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.
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