Red Devils eliminate Daingerfield, 59-41
MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas—Daingerfield came up one round short of where the Tigers finished last year.
Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill ended Daingerfield’s playoff run by firing over 50 percent from the field and breaking open the game in the second half, steadily pulling away from the Tigers during a 59-41 Class 3A regional quarterfinal game at Willie Williams Gym Tuesday.
The Red Devils (30-5) advance to the Region II-3A tournament at Rockwall Heath High School for Friday’s semifinals. Daingerfield’s season ends at 23-12.
“We didn’t play very well,” Daingerfield coach Curtis Lewis said. “We couldn’t get the ball to Mikal Reeves inside in the first half. (Keiston) Rushing kept us in the game, and I told them at halftime, ‘As bad as we played the first half, we’re only down three.’ We just couldn’t put it together tonight.”
Chapel Hill shot 52 percent on 22 of 42 shooting and
committed 13 turnovers to the Tigers’
17.
Daingerfield held the advantage on the glass, 33-27, and shot 35 percent on 18 of 52 field goals.
The Tiger halftime deficit of three points remained the same until the Red Devils hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway into the third quarter to go up 33-24. The Tigers cut the lead to seven but were down 10 entering the fourth quarter.
Chapel Hill outscored Daingerfield by eight (19-11) in the fourth with the winners converting seven free throws in the period.
The Red Devils started quickly, building an 8-0 lead in the first 2:40 of the game. Mikal Reeves scored to get the Tigers on the board, and after another Chapel Hill basket, Daingerfield cut its deficit to four (10-6).
The team traded baskets to start the second quarter, the Red Devils holding a 16-10 advantage before Daingerfield rattled off seven in a row to take the lead—the only one of the game for the Tigers.
“I take my hat off to Chapel Hill; they did what they had to do to get to the next game,” Lewis said. “I told my kids that I was proud of them. This was a team that I didn’t know what to expect out of them when we first started. A lot of people weren’t giving us credit, but they kept building, kept building and kept building. And we became a pretty good basketball team.”
CH answered with a 7-point rally, and Reggie Jeter drained a 3-pointer in the final minute of the half to cut the Tigers’ deficit to 23-20, which it remained at intermission.
Zach Shipp scorched the nets for 30 points to lead the Devils and also grabbed seven rebounds. Austin Padron had 10 points.
Keiston Rushing and Jeter each scored 13 points for Daingerfield, and Timmyon Broner had eight. Reeves pulled down eight rebounds, and Jeter had six.
From last season’s regional semifinalist, the Tigers returned just two varsity players, and they graduate three from this year’s squad: Rushing, Keith Bryson and Jay Johnson.