4A District 15 Tournament: Houston gets No. 1 seed in regional

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Houston defeated Bartlett, 74-70, in overtime to win this season's 4A District 15 Tournament. The win gives the Mustangs a No. 1 seed in the 4A Region 8 Tournament. The Panthers are a No. 2 seed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are 4 quick notes from Houston's win:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Taking Bartlett's best punch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All season, the Panthers have been in control of games when they built a double-digit lead. It looked that way Tuesday night when Bartlett took a 50-39 lead midway through the third quarter after a 3-pointer by freshman point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2194475' first='Braylon' last='Williams']. The Panthers started the third quarter on a 7-0 run, which was led by sophomore wing [player_tooltip player_id='2291122' first='Dylan' last='Jones'], who scored the first 5 points of the quarter. Usually, Bartlett kicks into another gear when it goes on a scoring run. Those runs usually start with a 3, a dunk, a 3-point play, or a really good defensive possession.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This time around, the Panthers couldn't land the knockout punch that they have been able to land many times this season. The Mustangs walked through every jab and haymaker Bartlett threw their way and punched back. The Panthers' 11-point lead quickly vanished, thanks to scores from [player_tooltip player_id='2111892' first='Jordan' last='Myles'], [player_tooltip player_id='1532545' first='Keron' last='Jackson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2101889' first='Justin' last='Frison'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1672419' first='Kaleb' last='Jeffries'] made a 3 at the end of the quarter that made it 54-50.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third quarter signaled a heavyweight bout from the top two teams in the district during the regular season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Productive 4th from both</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both programs either led or trailed by single digits in the fourth quarter. Bartlett held a four-point lead twice but each time the Panthers looked to pull away, Houston responded with scores of its own. A score by Frison put the Mustangs up 64-63. In the waning seconds, the Panthers needed a score. Houston sat in a 2-3 zone for the entire night, forcing Bartlett to make shots from the perimeter. The zone defense made the Panthers offense stagnant more times than they would have liked. Jones answered the call with a 3 from the right wing as he was falling down to give Bartlett a 66-64 lead. But the Panthers committed a foul on the Mustangs' next possession, sending Jackson to the line. He made both to send the game into overtime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jackson finished the night with 16. Myles led the team with 22. Frison added 15.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Biggest shot of the night</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were a lot of great baskets scored from both teams, but the biggest one came in overtime from sophomore guard <strong>Chase Givens</strong>. With Houston up 70-68 in overtime, Givens sat alone in the corner wide open. The basketball came his way, and he made a huge 3-pointer to put the Mustangs up 5. Givens stepped into it with confidence, and seemed very sure of himself as he put it in the air. Afterwards, it was said that the play wasn't designed for Givens to take the shot. Around this time of the year, a Robert Horry-type shot is needed. Givens made that shot Tuesday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was the shot that placed Houston in the driver seat to get the No. 1 seed in the regional tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No Perry</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bartlett was without junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2083148' first='Axton' last='Perry'] (illness). Perry is a 6-foot-6 forward that can guard on the perimeter, alter shots at the rim, and rebound. In the first regular season meeting, Perry had 12 rebounds, and all of those boards led to points for the Panthers. Bartlett missed his presence in the paint as the Mustangs were able to get a lot of good looks at the rim. The Panthers need Perry to win a 4A state title. He's that important to the team's success and what it likes to do: dominant the boards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What we know so far</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As of right now, No. 1 seed Houston hosts No. 4 Memphis East in the 4A Region 8 Tournament. No. 2 Bartlett hosts No. 3 Memphis Central. The 4A District 16 Tournament is still ongoing. The championship game is Wednesday night. Whitehaven and White Station will battle it out for the tournament title. The winner will host No. 4 Germantown, while the loser will host No. 3 Southwind.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other notes</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williams led the Panthers with 20 points. Jones finished with 18. Freshman forward <strong>DJ Okoth</strong> added 10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>All-Tournament Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kris Smith</strong> (Southwind), [player_tooltip player_id='1547248' first='Devin' last='Hall'] (Germantown), <strong>Austen Price</strong> (Southwind), [player_tooltip player_id='1330881' first='KJ' last='Neville'] (Bartlett), Okoth, Myles, Frison, and Jeffries were named to the 4A District 15 All-Tournament Team. Jackson was named MVP.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->