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Boys basketball: Coppell bites the Bullitt in Whataburger Tourney
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
The schedule didn't get any easier for Coppell's boys basketball team during the holiday break as the Cowboys faced talented foes Dec. 27-29 in the Orange Bracket at the Whataburger Tournament, going 1-2.
The squad opened the event against Bullitt East, a nationally-ranked team from Kentucky, and came up short, 67-47.
"We didn't score very well but we still managed to cut the lead down to about five in the third quarter," said Kit Pehl, Coppell head coach. "We did a good job of battling back, but they just had too much."
"They had a 6-foot-9 guy and a couple of 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-6 kids," he said. "But they could handle the ball, too. They're very talented and their big guy (Derek Willis) is already committed to Kentucky."
Coppell bounced back in the second round, however, notching a victory over Rowlett (no. 12 in the state), 61-52.
The Cowboys trailed after the first quarter, 14-13, but outscored the Eagles in each of the final three quarters, including 12-6 in the second. Simi Socks led the Cowboys' offense with a game-high 24 points, while Landon Goesling chipped in 18. Jeffrey Carroll recorded 21 points for Rowlett.
In its third game, Coppell was defeated by Plano West, 73-67, in overtime. The Cowboys had previously defeated the Wolves Dec. 21, 48-44.
West jumped on Coppell in the first half, outscoring the Cowboys in the first quarter, 22-16, and in the second quarter, 21-14. However, a 21-7 spurt in the third got Coppell back in the contest before the Cowboys drew even in the fourth.
"We got down early but I was very pleased with how we stormed back in the second half and in the third quarter, in particular," Pehl said. "I was a little disappointed we lost, but we really competed well against a good team."
Coppell had four players in double figures, including Socks (18), Calvin Michaelis (16), Cody Carver (10) and Goesling (10).
On Friday, Coppell continued its preparation for district with a 48-45 win over Plano Senior.
Goesling and Socks led the way with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
The Cowboys opened the contest with an 18-5 run and closed strong with a 19-16 advantage in the fourth quarter.
"Throughout the break, I was really pleased with the effort of the kids," Pehl said. "There is no doubt playing teams of that quality will be good for us. We got a couple of good wins and had some chances in the games we lost. I was pleased with the effort and how we executed what was in our scouting reports."
We played well on defense and made our opponents really work for their shots."
Coppell continued Tuesday against McKinney (results not available as of press time) before opening District 5-5A competition at 7:30 p.m. Friday at home against Marcus.
Girls basketball: Cowgirls drop district opener
While the boys team kicks off their district season Friday, the Cowgirls got 5-5A play under way Jan. 4 with a 48-44 loss against Hebron.
The Lady Hawks led, 30-17, at halftime and were powered by 15 points from Kristin Cunningham and 10 from Grace Pospichal.
Sydney Overman and Jaidyn Phillips scored 13 and 11, respectively, for Coppell.
Coppell continued Tuesday at Flower Mound (results not available as of press time) before hosting Marcus at 6 p.m. Friday.
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