Senior guard A.J. Bride’s 22 points highlighted a four-headed scoring attack for Chris Wilson’s squad, as the Mavs stormed past the Buffaloes 76- 58 in 24-5A boys’ basketball action.
Junior J`vaun Walker also pumped in 20 points for Manvel, who kept its playoff hopes alive with the victory, while junior Myles Levine and sophomore Shaun Walker added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Manvel (9-6 in district) can clinch a postseason berth with a win at home against Hightower on Tuesday (7 p.m. tip-off), or a loss by either Richmond Foster (at Rosenberg Terry) or Angleton (hosts Marshall) during the same evening. The worst case scenario includes a loss by the Mavs and a Foster win, which forces the teams into a play-in situation for the fourth and final playoff spot later in the week.
While getting past already playoff-bound Hightower provides a tall task for Manvel, Wilson is confident that his team is up to the task. The Mavs now ride a four-game winning streak after delivering one of their best all-around performances on the road Friday.
“We’re really starting to come around,” the Manvel coach said following the game. “We lost some games we shouldn’t have early on, but things are clicking for us at the right time.”
The Mavs were put in a twofold bind during the initial eight minutes with the 6-6 Shaun Walker being forced to the bench with two early fouls, while the Buffaloes took advantage of Manvel’s missing defensive presence inside. With guards Trey Sinegal and Christian Jackson relentlessly attacking on drives through the lane, Marshall exploded to an impressive 30-20 opening period lead.
Walker’s return to action immediately paved the way for the Mavs’ turnaround in the second, though. The 6-6 post joined McBride and J`vaun Walker with buckets and Levine drained a three-pointer to cut the gap to 30-29 with 4:47 left. After Shaun Walker tied things at 33-33 with a shot inside, J’vaun Walker gave Manvel its first lead at 35-33 with a jumper with 3:33 remaining and later added a pair of free throws in the first half’s closing moments for a 41-36 MHS advantage at intermission.
“Shaun picked up his fouls on the first two possessions. So he goes out, we go small and they started attacking inside,” Wilson said. “We lost the rebound game and our inside presence.
“We just tried to hold off as much as we could. I felt safe at 10 (down). I felt we’re going to be okay. They hit some 3’s that they normally don’t hit. The kids battled and the bench came in and did a good job.”
Manvel continued to pad its cushion in the third, as Shaun Walker pumped in eight points in the quarter.
McBride’s trey increased the margin to 56-48 heading into the final pe... Click here to read full article
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