By Terry Carter, RTT, CHyp.
Once again District 19-6A has more than enough teams racing for four playoff spots. This time the Seven Lakes boys’ basketball squad is the frontrunner, and four squads are jockeying for postseason position.
The ranked Spartans (27-4, 12-0) hold a sizable lead over the other playoff contenders, but it’s a battle between Cinco Ranch, Jordan, Taylor and Tompkins to see which team is next in line.
Seven Lakes is ranked first in Greater Houston and third in Region III, according to MaxPreps. The Spartans opened the season with back-to-back losses and have since gone 27-2, including a current, 19-game winning streak.
A recent game against Tompkins yielded the Spartans’ first 100-point production as Seven Lakes won, 100-82. Tompkins junior Luke Coughran poured in 42 points and finished with 10 rebounds for a double-double. Coughran is averaging 25.8 points per game to lead the district in scoring.
The Spartans also downed Morton Ranch, 93-78, Mayde Creek, 85-53, and defeated Jordan, 82-72, in recent contests. In the Jordan victory, Seven Lakes players shot 49 percent from the field and connected on 25 percent of 3-pointers.
As mentioned the race for second, third and fourth — and fifth place — are a virtual deadlock in the district race.
Cinco Ranch (20-10, 9-4) entered play this week tied with Jordan (22-8, 9-4). However Taylor (21-10, 8-4) and Tompkins (17-12, 7-4) have the same number of league losses.
The race to the regular-season finish on Feb. 14 will require some key wins to leave one of these five strong teams short of the postseason. It will be two weeks of excitement before the playoffs begin.
The Cinco Ranch Cougars enter the week tied for second place in district play. The team has relied on offensive production and wearing opponents down with ball handling, defense and quality perimeter shooting. (Photo by Terry Carter/UDPhotos(