Sports
Explosive finish: Boyd's impressive fourth quarter topples Frisco Centennial
By Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
MCKINNEY -- Backed by a profound wealth of riches in the fourth quarter, the McKinney Boyd boys basketball team stampeded past Frisco Centennial 48-35 Friday night in the opening round of the OrthoTexas Invitational from Boyd High School.
"It was a good win," said Boyd guard Michael Grant. "It was slow-paced at first, but we got the 'W.' That's what matters. This type of game says we're patient, and we have that ability to adjust and find our groove and not lose our composure."
Boyd (14-2) outdistanced Centennial (9-7) by a score 19-7 in the fourth quarter, with nearly all of their offensive output coming in the final three minutes.
Grant led the Broncos with a team-high 10 points.
"Michael is an all-state performer," said Dean Christian, Boyd head coach. "He played really tough for us all game long. He's just a man in there. He had a special game."
Also contributing for Boyd was Faisal Mansour, who had eight points, while Daylon Markham had six, and Manney Collins and Martez Butler chipped in five apiece.
Both defenses held court for the first quarter, holding the other's offense to slim pickings for most of the way.
"Our kids take pride in our defense," Christian said. "We take pride in shutting people down and really trying to help each other and play good team defense. We were able to take some things away from them that they were trying to do and that really helped us."
Boyd, though, did manage to finish the quarter strong. Mansour made a three-pointer as time expired, padding Boyd's slim lead to 11-7 heading into the second quarter.
Just as they had in the first quarter, the Broncos finished strong in the second. Chris Stanton got a smooth steal and a quick layup in the second quarter's final seconds for the 21-14 halftime lead.
For a team that has only two losses on the season, the Broncos expect more from themselves than the effort they gave in the first half.
"We just had to adjust to the zone," Grant said. "Every team we've played so far has mostly played man, so we had to adjust to it before we could hit our shots. We had much better ball movement and could hit it inside and out the more we got used to it."
The Titans were far from through, though, as they cut what had been a nine-point deficit to just one point late in the third quarter.
Unlike the previous two quarters, the Broncos failed to collect in the final seconds, although it was not without some drama as a shot in traffic from deep in the paint rattled around the rim before bouncing out.
Boyd led Centennial 29-28 to start the fourth quarter. To their credit, the Titans struck fast, scoring the first four points of the fourth to take the 33-29 lead.
"They hit some big shots," Christian said. "We had some untimely turnovers and that's what started that slide for us. You can't force the play. You got to wait for your shot, wait for that good shot and I think we got a little away from that there."
The Broncos retook the lead on a Mikel Parish layup, 35-33. What would follow was a drastic shift in momentum in Boyd's favor.
Markham reeled off a quick steal as the ensuing layup gave the Broncos a 39-35 lead inside of the game's final three minutes. Collins then hit a three as Boyd began to gain some separation with a seven-point lead. Collins continued with a layup seconds later and Markham followed that with another layup off another steal. Boyd had suddenly scored nine points in a little more than 30 seconds.
"We had been playing full-court press the entire game and they just kind of lost their legs," Grant said. "We have a deeper bench than they do, so that came into play."
Christian was particularly proud of Collins' night. Although his minutes were few, his contributions were key to the Broncos' explosive finish.
"It's difficult to come off the bench and play well when you haven't played all game and that's exactly what Manney did," Christian said. "In that three-minute run he made several good shots. He made the most of it and that's huge."
The Broncos continued to pad their lead the rest of the way to earn the victory, one that Christian said speaks volumes about his team.
"These kids will never quit," he said. "We had some adversity, the momentum changed on us and in the face of that adversity they fought back. It's a good sign that they didn't panic and were able to stay poised and execute down the stretch."
"It was a good win," said Boyd guard Michael Grant. "It was slow-paced at first, but we got the 'W.' That's what matters. This type of game says we're patient, and we have that ability to adjust and find our groove and not lose our composure."
Boyd (14-2) outdistanced Centennial (9-7) by a score 19-7 in the fourth quarter, with nearly all of their offensive output coming in the final three minutes.
Grant led the Broncos with a team-high 10 points.
"Michael is an all-state performer," said Dean Christian, Boyd head coach. "He played really tough for us all game long. He's just a man in there. He had a special game."
Also contributing for Boyd was Faisal Mansour, who had eight points, while Daylon Markham had six, and Manney Collins and Martez Butler chipped in five apiece.
Both defenses held court for the first quarter, holding the other's offense to slim pickings for most of the way.
"Our kids take pride in our defense," Christian said. "We take pride in shutting people down and really trying to help each other and play good team defense. We were able to take some things away from them that they were trying to do and that really helped us."
Boyd, though, did manage to finish the quarter strong. Mansour made a three-pointer as time expired, padding Boyd's slim lead to 11-7 heading into the second quarter.
Just as they had in the first quarter, the Broncos finished strong in the second. Chris Stanton got a smooth steal and a quick layup in the second quarter's final seconds for the 21-14 halftime lead.
For a team that has only two losses on the season, the Broncos expect more from themselves than the effort they gave in the first half.
"We just had to adjust to the zone," Grant said. "Every team we've played so far has mostly played man, so we had to adjust to it before we could hit our shots. We had much better ball movement and could hit it inside and out the more we got used to it."
The Titans were far from through, though, as they cut what had been a nine-point deficit to just one point late in the third quarter.
Unlike the previous two quarters, the Broncos failed to collect in the final seconds, although it was not without some drama as a shot in traffic from deep in the paint rattled around the rim before bouncing out.
Boyd led Centennial 29-28 to start the fourth quarter. To their credit, the Titans struck fast, scoring the first four points of the fourth to take the 33-29 lead.
"They hit some big shots," Christian said. "We had some untimely turnovers and that's what started that slide for us. You can't force the play. You got to wait for your shot, wait for that good shot and I think we got a little away from that there."
The Broncos retook the lead on a Mikel Parish layup, 35-33. What would follow was a drastic shift in momentum in Boyd's favor.
Markham reeled off a quick steal as the ensuing layup gave the Broncos a 39-35 lead inside of the game's final three minutes. Collins then hit a three as Boyd began to gain some separation with a seven-point lead. Collins continued with a layup seconds later and Markham followed that with another layup off another steal. Boyd had suddenly scored nine points in a little more than 30 seconds.
"We had been playing full-court press the entire game and they just kind of lost their legs," Grant said. "We have a deeper bench than they do, so that came into play."
Christian was particularly proud of Collins' night. Although his minutes were few, his contributions were key to the Broncos' explosive finish.
"It's difficult to come off the bench and play well when you haven't played all game and that's exactly what Manney did," Christian said. "In that three-minute run he made several good shots. He made the most of it and that's huge."
The Broncos continued to pad their lead the rest of the way to earn the victory, one that Christian said speaks volumes about his team.
"These kids will never quit," he said. "We had some adversity, the momentum changed on us and in the face of that adversity they fought back. It's a good sign that they didn't panic and were able to stay poised and execute down the stretch."
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