Sports and Outdoors

 Lake Info

Normal Lake Level is 322.00 feet above Mean Sea Level.
Current level for Cedar Creek Lake is: 319.38
Water Temperature:
52 degrees - top
54 degrees - bottom

Wills Point stops Kemp
By Randal Brewer
Monitor Staff Writer
WILLS POINT–The Kemp Yellowjackets’ last hope for a playoff spot ended on Tuesday night, when they fell to the district champion Wills Point Tigers, 39-20, in the regular-season finale.
The ’Jackets finished District 14-3A play at 5-5, tied with Eustace, who defeated Canton Tuesday (see related story). Because Eustace won both head-to-head matchups with the ’Jackets, they will advance as the district’s third seed.
Wills Point finished a 10-0 district run with Tuesday’s win, while Van bashed winless Mineola to claim the second-place playoff berth.
The Yellowjackets led at the half of a defensive game, 13-12, but a 20-0 run in second half by Wills Point sealed the game.
Kemp senior James Trim hit two 3-point shots in the first half, and scored all eight of his points early to lead Kemp.
However, Trim picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, forcing him to the bench for much of the second half.
Jeremy Quick scored the first basket of the second half to give Kemp a 15-12 lead, but Wills Point scored the next 20 points to build a 32-15 lead.
Wills Point’s Kevin Scott hit three consecutive 3-pointers to spark the run. Kemp was held to two points in the third, and seven in the second half.
In addition to Trim’s eight points, the ’Jackets got five points from Quick, four from Joseph Weeks and a free throw from Terrence Sistrunk.
 

Panthers win, tie for 4th place
Monitor Staff Reports
MABANK–A dramatic double-overtime victory in the regular-season finale Tuesday propelled the Mabank Panthers into a playoff for a playoff berth.
By beating visiting West Mesquite 65-61, the Panthers secured a tie with Mesquite Poteet for the District 15-4A fourth-place playoff berth.
Both Mabank (16-10) and Poteet (13-14) finished district basketball play at 5-7, trailing unbeaten and sixth-ranked Lancaster (12-0), Red Oak (8-4) and West Mesquite (7-5).
The Panthers and Pirates were scheduled to face off at 7 p.m. Friday in Forney to determine the fourth-place winner.
The winner of that game, as the 15-4A fourth-place representative, will face the District 16-4A winner, Waco Midway, in the first round of the playoffs, tentatively scheduled for Monday or Tuesday, Feb. 23-24.
On “senior night” at Mabank High School, the Panthers took a 9-5 lead in the first quarter behind senior Kolton Browning, who scored all of the Panthers’ points.
The Wranglers came back to outscore Mabank 19-14 in the second quarter and take a slim 24-23 halftime lead. Browning again had the hot hand for the Panthers, hitting for nine points, including a 3-point basket, while Jacob Woodard added another trey.
In the third quarter, Browning scored just one point, but Griffin Marshall (five points, including a trey), Micky Pycha (seven points, including a trey) and Tyler Fisher (four points) took up the slack.
With the score tied at 40 going into the fourth quarter, free throws proved to be the key for both teams. Browning had two baskets, but hit 8-of-8 from the charity stripe during the fourth quarter, while three Wranglers combined to hit 7-of-13 attempts.
The score remained tied at 54 at the end of regulation time.
In the first overtime, both teams scored four points each. In the second overtime, the Panthers outscored the Wranglers 7-3 to take the four-point victory.
The win came even though the Panthers hit just 9-of-22 from the free throw line in the extra periods. For the game, Mabank shot 50 percent from the line (20-of-40), while the Wranglers shot nearly 66 percent (21-of-32).
Browning led all scorers with 33 points, hitting one trey and 12-of-15 from the free throw line.
Pycha and Fisher each finished with seven points, while Marshall finished with six points, Trevor Peele and Woodard each had four, Cameron Tucker three and Jordan Featherston added a free throw in overtime.
Sona led West Mesquite with 21 points, as Bio had 14 and Love 10.
 

Kemp falls in bidistrict, 61-33
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
ROYSE CITY–It had been a long time coming, but the first playoff appearance for the Kemp Lady Yellowjackets in 16 years was over far too quickly.
Playoff jitters were clearly evident, particularly in a disastrous first half, as the Lady ’Jackets fell to the Rains Lady Wildcats 61-33 in a bidistrict basketball playoff game Tuesday.
The Lady ’Jackets ended their season at 14-19, while the Lady Wildcats improved to 23-10 and advanced to face Liberty-Eylau in the area round at Mt. Pleasant Thursday night.
Maybe it was the late start that shook the Lady ’Jackets.
The game – the nightcap of a double-header – started 20 minutes late, when the opening contest pitting Van against Farmersville was halted midway through the fourth quarter after half of the lights over the Royse City High School basketball court went out.
The lights were still out when the game resumed. They started coming back on with about three minutes to play, but it was still notably darker on the court when the Lady ’Jackets and the Lady Wildcats came out for warm-ups.
Kemp’s girls had suffered bad shooting nights before, but none as bad as the first half of Tuesday’s contest.
It wasn’t just the shooting, either, as the Lady ’Jackets suffered from a severe case of fumblitis, committing numerous turnovers, more than a few unforced by Lady Wildcat defenders.
Taking advantage of the opportunities, the Lady Wildcats forged an 8-0 lead before Lady ’Jacket freshman Kandace Rose broke the ice over the Kemp basket with a lay-in and follow-up free throw.
Rose’s three-point play proved to be Kemp’s only basket in the first quarter, and her only points.
The Lady Wildcats routinely limited the Lady ’Jackets to just one shot per possession and drove inside for layups.
The result was an 18-0 run, finally broken when Michelle Ritterbach hit a 3-point basket with 4:06 left in the second quarter, making the score 26-6.
Kemp senior Meagan Lacy hit a pair of free throws and sophomore Shannon Shipp hit inside with 14 seconds left to close out Kemp’s first-half scoring, as the Lady ’Jackets found themselves trailing 32-9 at halftime.
It didn’t get a whole lot better in the third quarter, as the Lady Wildcats pounded the ball inside to Chelsee Hudson, who led them with 21 points.
Rains outscored Kemp 18-8 in the third quarter to take a 33-point lead into the fourth quarter, 50-17.
In the final frame, the Lady ’Jackets managed to outscore the Lady Wildcats 16-11, but were far too deep in a hole to climb back into the game.
Brianna Powell led the Lady ’Jackets with 11 points, as Lacy finished with seven and Ritterbach with five.
Both Brittany Simmons and Rose scored three points each, while both Shelbie Wright and Shipp finished with two points each.
In addition to Hudson’s 21, the Lady Wildcats got 12 points from Becky Cason, eight each from Katelyn Wade and Cassy Maxvill, and seven from Payton Hooten.