Mustangs force 26 turnovers, and used four free throws from Foster and Roach to advance to the 5A title game
Austin – In a game of momentum changes, when all else failed, North Shore relied on its stingy defense and late free throws.
North Shore’s swarming defense forced 26 turnovers and forward Jarrey Foster sank two free throws with 18.9 seconds left, pushing the Mustangs pasted DeSoto 48-45 in the Class 5A Semifinals on Friday evening at the Frank Erwin Center.
The victory moves the Mustangs one step closer to its goal of battling for a state title when it faces the winner of Allen/Converse Judson game at 8:30 on Saturday evening.
Not since 1997 have North Shore advanced to the title game where they lost to Dallas Kimball 74-64.
With the game hanging in the balance, Foster, who finished 3-of-9 from the charity stripe, converted the two most important free throws of the game with 18.9 seconds left. As pressure mounted around Foster, he slowly dribbled the ball and sang the bonus points.
Shortly after, Roach provided cushion for the Mustangs (34-3) by connecting on two free throws with 9.3 seconds left to increase the score 48-45. But the win wasn’t sealed until Eagles’ No 31 was assessed with an intentional foul with 4.6 seconds left and No 2 last desperation miss-fired from beyond the arc, which would have sent the game to overtime as time expired
Despite limited offense, defense forced 26 turnovers to give the Mustangs all that it would need in a low-scoring affair. The trapping, swarming-pressure, posed a tall challenge for the Eagles. North Shore’s guard play in the passing lanes and its quickness also helped.
“We been in games like this before, but I told our kids, our defense is our staple,” said North Shore’s coach David Green. “We figured if we put pressure on them for four quarters, we would get some turnovers.”
The Eagles fired from 3-point range, but the shot was off target as time became a factor.
DeSoto (31-4), a multi-talented team, traded baskets using open looks around the perimeter, penetrating to the rim and the inside dish worked well.
However, no lead was safe for neither team, though North Shore enjoyed its largest lead at six, 24-18 with 4:37 left in the second quarter, the Eagles battled throughout the evening.
“They did a good job. They came after us and we didn’t take care of the ball,” DeSoto’s coach Chris Dyer said. “We’ve been pressed before. They’re a good team. There a reason why their here.”
Early in the first quarter, North Shore stormed back from an 8-2 hole after the Eagles ‘sharp-shooting guard Takedrick Brown nailed two treys, coupled with two steals to lead 17-14 after one quarter.
The Mustangs practically played into the hands of DeSoto’s defense in the second and third quarters. The Eagles dropped into a zone defense and waited as North Shore penetrated for unsuccessful layups, which were off target or swatted away by the presence of 6’9” Marques, 6’7” Terry Maston and 6”7” Devin Wyatt.
For DeSoto, the opportunity presented itself at start of the third quarter when North Shore went scoreless until the 3:44 mark. No 5 connected on two free throws and Maston followed up a missed shot, increasing the Eagles lead 32-25 with 3:35 left in the third quarter.
Trying to maintain the lead proved to be a tough task, as North Shore’s defense held DeSoto to two points over the next couple of minutes. Quickness helped North Shore Benefit from attaching the passing lanes, which led to layups and closed the gap.
The Mustangs’ 7-0 run got underway after No 3 drilled two free throws, stole a pass, and executed a pair of layups. No 34 off the bench drained a couple of free throws to pull the Mustangs within two, 34-32 as the third quarter came to a close.
When open shots fail to fall from the perimeter, the Mustangs went into a spread four-corner, as it worked the ball around the court, looking to shave time off the clock.
Fans watched a see-saw, nail-biting fourth quarter. As both teams shared the lead throughout, it all came down to Foster’s late free throws couple with DeSoto’s No 2 miss fire from beyond the 3-point line.
