FORT WORTH —
Burleson and Mansfield Summit will have two more opportunities for a rematch next season when the two squads are District 7-4A rivals.
Summit outlasted Burleson, 48-40, on Tuesday night at North Crowley High School in the bidistrict round of the Class 5A state basketball playoffs in a game that featured strong rebounding by the more athletic Jaguars.
Burleson took a brief one-point lead in the first quarter at 9-8, but Summit generated plenty of extra opportunities by harassing the Elks with full-court pressure on defense and pounding the glass.
Summit took a five-point lead into the second period at 14-9 and stretched it to 18-11 before Ryan Marsh hit two free throws to key a 6-2 run to make it 20-17.
Summit finished the quarter on a 9-0 run, and took a 12-point advantage into the locker room at halftime.
“We just dug ourselves too deep a hole in the first half,” Burleson head coach Ted Tomchesson said.
Burleson (24-9) was trying to win its first playoff game in school history, but the ball simply wouldn’t roll the Elks’ way throughout the game.
Several missed inside opportunities by Burleson cost it later in the game when the Elks rallied in the third quarter.
Summit stretched the lead to 16 at 33-17, but a basket by Marsh keyed a 17-6 run that stretched into the fourth quarter, and put Burleson down by five at 39-34.
“We gave them too many extra possessions with offensive boards and turnovers,” Tomchesson said. “Against a good team, they’ll take advantage of that. We had a slip-up there in the third quarter and got it to five, but it took a lot of our effort to get it to that point.”
Summit made the most of its trips to the free throw line by finishing 20-of-25 from the stripe.
Seven made free throws in the final quarter were enough to seal the win for the Jaguars.
Tomchesson said he believed his team made improvements in the second half, but it wasn’t enough.
“I think we adjusted to the pressure pretty well in the second half,” Tomchesson said. “We executed what we wanted to do better and dropped our turnovers. The kids settled down and played, and I think they were a little tight at first.”
Marsh led Burleson with 15 points in his final game as an Elk.
Marsh has signed to play basketball at Dallas Baptist University in the fall.
Joel Rodgers finished with 10 points and Blake Dunson had seven.
