Sports
Slaying Goliath: North tops No. 11 Jacksonville in upset
By Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
EMORY -- This is what the high school basketball playoffs is all about.
In a thrilling upset in front of a standing room-only packed crowd, the McKinney North boys beat Jacksonville, 55-45, Friday night in its area-round matchup from Rains High School.
Jacksonville entered the game with only one loss on the season at 33-1 and a No. 11 state ranking affixed to its name, yet it's the battled-tested Bulldogs who will live on to fight another day.
"I couldn't be more proud of my kids as I am tonight," said Darryll Craft, North head coach. "They pressed us for 32 minutes. We were only able to play seven kids and we were exhausted. We played our tails off and I couldn't be happier for our kids."
North improves to 22-11 on the season as the Bulldogs advance to play Mansfield Legacy next week in the regional quarterfinals.
"They showed tremendous mental toughness tonight," Craft said. "The place was rocking, the fans were going nuts on both sides, the refs let the two teams play and get real physical and not once did we waver or get upset. That's what it's going to take to continue to win games at this point in the playoffs."
Leading the way for North was Julion Pearre with 20 points.
"As a coach you ask so much out of your players," Craft said. "Tonight Julion took over in the fourth quarter. That's something he'll remember for the rest of his life. When you see these kids excel like he and his teammates did tonight, you feel like a proud papa."
Also contributing for the Bulldogs was Colin Curran with nine points and Bryson Brown with eight points.
In one of the most physical games North has played all year, the Bulldogs showed their grit by out-muscling a strong Jacksonville team every step of the way.
"I told our kids all week that we had time to prepare for Jacksonville," Craft said. "I told them that if we were physical enough to block out that we would win and we did that. We pounded the crud out of the ball."
In addition to blocking out, North excelled on the boards, controlling the ball and limiting Jacksonville's second-chance points.
Curran got things rolling for North, scoring seven points in just the first quarter, helping lead the Bulldogs to a 14-6 margin heading into the second.
The Bulldogs would continue to expand their lead in the second with their strong defense and timely shots as they led, 25-14, at the half.
"I really thought we missed out on some opportunities," Craft said. "I thought we should have been up by more at that point. I thought we played great ball."
Sensing the full magnitude of its season coming to an end, Jacksonville made a run in the third, cutting North's lead to 25-22.
"We never wavered, not even when they made their third-quarter run," Craft said. "We never got flustered."
Jacksonville made sure to keep things close as North led by only four with the score at 30-26 heading into the fourth. This is when Pearre took charge and led North to the victory.
"Julion was the man in the fourth quarter," Craft said. "Every time they would cut the lead, Julion made big shots to build it back up. It was a gutty performance."
Craft was also thankful for his team's fans who made the long drive out to Emory in northeast Texas to help fill the Rains gym to capacity.
"I want to thank our fans," he said. "Our student body and our community came out tonight. I appreciate their support and I know it means a lot to our kids, too."
As North prepares for the next round, Craft said everything the team has done since last year's playoff ouster has led to this year's success and guided them to this point.
"Experience is just so important," he said. "Last year we got to this same round and got beat by the seventh-ranked team in the state. This year we're more battle-tested from that experience and the tough district and non-district teams we've played this season. They've all helped prepare us for this."
In a thrilling upset in front of a standing room-only packed crowd, the McKinney North boys beat Jacksonville, 55-45, Friday night in its area-round matchup from Rains High School.
Jacksonville entered the game with only one loss on the season at 33-1 and a No. 11 state ranking affixed to its name, yet it's the battled-tested Bulldogs who will live on to fight another day.
"I couldn't be more proud of my kids as I am tonight," said Darryll Craft, North head coach. "They pressed us for 32 minutes. We were only able to play seven kids and we were exhausted. We played our tails off and I couldn't be happier for our kids."
North improves to 22-11 on the season as the Bulldogs advance to play Mansfield Legacy next week in the regional quarterfinals.
"They showed tremendous mental toughness tonight," Craft said. "The place was rocking, the fans were going nuts on both sides, the refs let the two teams play and get real physical and not once did we waver or get upset. That's what it's going to take to continue to win games at this point in the playoffs."
Leading the way for North was Julion Pearre with 20 points.
"As a coach you ask so much out of your players," Craft said. "Tonight Julion took over in the fourth quarter. That's something he'll remember for the rest of his life. When you see these kids excel like he and his teammates did tonight, you feel like a proud papa."
Also contributing for the Bulldogs was Colin Curran with nine points and Bryson Brown with eight points.
In one of the most physical games North has played all year, the Bulldogs showed their grit by out-muscling a strong Jacksonville team every step of the way.
"I told our kids all week that we had time to prepare for Jacksonville," Craft said. "I told them that if we were physical enough to block out that we would win and we did that. We pounded the crud out of the ball."
In addition to blocking out, North excelled on the boards, controlling the ball and limiting Jacksonville's second-chance points.
Curran got things rolling for North, scoring seven points in just the first quarter, helping lead the Bulldogs to a 14-6 margin heading into the second.
The Bulldogs would continue to expand their lead in the second with their strong defense and timely shots as they led, 25-14, at the half.
"I really thought we missed out on some opportunities," Craft said. "I thought we should have been up by more at that point. I thought we played great ball."
Sensing the full magnitude of its season coming to an end, Jacksonville made a run in the third, cutting North's lead to 25-22.
"We never wavered, not even when they made their third-quarter run," Craft said. "We never got flustered."
Jacksonville made sure to keep things close as North led by only four with the score at 30-26 heading into the fourth. This is when Pearre took charge and led North to the victory.
"Julion was the man in the fourth quarter," Craft said. "Every time they would cut the lead, Julion made big shots to build it back up. It was a gutty performance."
Craft was also thankful for his team's fans who made the long drive out to Emory in northeast Texas to help fill the Rains gym to capacity.
"I want to thank our fans," he said. "Our student body and our community came out tonight. I appreciate their support and I know it means a lot to our kids, too."
As North prepares for the next round, Craft said everything the team has done since last year's playoff ouster has led to this year's success and guided them to this point.
"Experience is just so important," he said. "Last year we got to this same round and got beat by the seventh-ranked team in the state. This year we're more battle-tested from that experience and the tough district and non-district teams we've played this season. They've all helped prepare us for this."
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