Texas High School Playoffs – Morton Ranch vs Dickinson

<p>The line was wrapped around a very impressive Richard Berry Center in Cypress, TX (located just North West of Houston.) Everyone was excited and anxious to see what would happen when two of the best teams in the city faced off. Both Morton Ranch High School and Dickinson High School have basketball teams littered with D1 talent. In fact, both teams have multiple D1 signees, so in essence, this was a preview of what the future of college basketball will look like. Coaches had their game plans, players were ready to go and this game did not disappoint. Let’s take a look at what happened.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>MRHS vs Dickinson HS Game Summary</strong></em></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;">Both teams came out of the gates looking like they were well prepared and were ready to play. Throughout the first quarter, the game remained close but Mortan Ranch held the edge. It was noticeable in the 2nd quarter that Morton Ranch wanted to keep big (2020, TCU commit) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="681899" first="Eddie" last="Lampkin"]</strong>, involved in the offense. He was able to use his big frame to create space and cause a match up issues for Dickinson. Not to be outdone, Dickinson’s guards, (2020, UofH commit) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="766907" first="Tramon" last="Mark"]</strong>, (2020, N. Colorado commit) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="681916" first="Marcus" last="Williams"]</strong> and (2020, Unsigned) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="884575" first="Deuce" last="Guidry"]</strong>, kept the game close by creating good shots and being pretty efficient from deep, making 36% of their three pointers. The feeling in the arena was that Morton Ranch would begin to pull away after the half, once (2020, Baylor commit) <strong>LJ Cryer</strong> got going. However, Dickinson had the lead at the half with their dominate guard play.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>At The Half</strong></span></em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>MRHS</strong> - 33</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Dickinson</strong> - 38</p> <p>Coming out of the locker room, Dickinson seemed intent on containing Cryer. Using multiple defenders and stretching their defense, the Gators made it difficult to get good looks for Morton Ranch. However, Morton Ranch got a good quarter from (2021) <strong>Ethan Shiflet</strong>, who was able to get to the rim and make things happen inside on multiple possessions. But still, eventually, Dickinson stretched their lead to double digits by capitalizing when Morton Ranch made mistakes. Heading into the 4th quarter, it was apparent that <strong>LJ Cryer</strong> would need to be <strong>LJ Cryer</strong> in order for Morton Ranch to get back in the game. He began by using his quickness and shiftiness to get to the basket and get and ones. Scoring 12 of his 26 points in the 4th, <strong>LJ Cryer</strong> was able to get Morton Ranch back within striking distance, pulling within 5 points late in the quarter. And then...things got heated. A scuffle ensued and Dickinson capitalized once again on Morton Ranch’s mistakes. This time, emotional mistakes paired with missed free throws down the stretch. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="766907" first="Tramon" last="Mark"]</strong> did not have any of these issues, as he composed himself and knocked down free throw after free throw, once again stretching Dickinson’s lead.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>End Of Game</strong></span></em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>MRHS</strong> - 69</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Dickinson</strong> - 83</p> <p><em><strong>*Dickinson won the next day, beating Bellaire and stamping their ticket to the final four in the 6A State Championship</strong></em></p> <p>[embed]https://twitter.com/4YFilms/status/1236173863836413958?s=20[/embed]</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Top Scorers</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Dickinson:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="766907" first="Tramon" last="Mark"] - 40 pts, [player_tooltip player_id="681916" first="Marcus" last="Williams"] - 21 pts, [player_tooltip player_id="884575" first="Deuce" last="Guidry"] - 20 pts</p> <p><strong>MRHS:</strong> LJ Cryer - 26 pts, [player_tooltip player_id="681899" first="Eddie" last="Lampkin"] - 16 pts, Ethan Shiflet - 9pts</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Top 2020 Prospects</strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="884575" first="Deuce" last="Guidry"]: Dickinson HS | PG</strong></span> - Deuce finished this game scoring 20 pts. He is an absolute floor general who picks and chooses when to strike (scoring wise). Defensively he has the foot speed to stay in front of ball handlers and offensively he can score in various ways.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="766991" first="Adrian" last="Caldwell"]: Morton Ranch HS | F</strong></span> - Caldwell, unfortunately, found himself in foul trouble in this game and MRHS could have really used his toughness down the stretch. Adrian already had a college player body with athleticism to match.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="884606" first="Westley" last="Sellers"]</strong></span> - Moron Ranch HS | G - Sellers was all over the floor in this match up, contributing to MRHS in multiple ways. Westley is a guard that can defend the perimeter, knock down the three ball, and can fill any void that a team may have.</p>