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Harker Heights Notebook: Addison named to TABC 5A All-State team
HARKER
HEIGHTS Senior Matt Addison, a 5-foot-8 guard for the Knights, has been named to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches
Class 5A All-State Team.
"That's
fantastic," said Harker Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt, who said Addison has been invited to the TABC All-Star Game set for
May 5 at Trinity University in San Antonio.
Addison, a transfer from Ellison, set single-season and single-game scoring records in his one
year with the Knights, and also set marks for 3-point shooting. He was one of 20 players selected and the only one from District
13-5A.
"Hands-down
the kid is one of the best guards in the state of Texas," said Bobbitt, a 1990 graduate of Killeen High School who also ranks
Addison among the city's all-time best, too.
"If we had a basketball all-Killeen team, he would be one of the top five. He'll be on the first
team.
"I can
go back to about the early '80s, '79-80, at Killeen ... and he is one of the best scorers. He put up about 750 points this
year. That's amazing. And shot over 50 percent from both sides of the (3-point line).
"I watched Zack and 'Zo play and he's better than them,"
Bobbitt added, referring to former Ellison stars Zack Wright and Lorenzo Williams, now playing for Arkansas-Little Rock and
Rice, respectively.
Speaking
of colleges, Addison, point guard Walter Harris and forward Dustan Allen are still evaluating their options.
As a full qualifier, the 6-foot-5 Harris appears to
have the most, including interest from mid-major Division I schools.Three Temple players, other area
hoop stars receive TABC honorsby Edward Carifio
Temple Daily Telegram
Published March
19, 2006 Several of the best players on the area’s top high school basketball teams this season have
been honored by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. Temple senior post Porscha Weddington and Academy
senior point guard Caitlin Barganier earned spots on the TABC’s girls all-state team in Class 5A and 2A, respectively. Meanwhile, Tem-Cats senior point guard Shondria Combs and Temple Wildcats junior post Russ Permenter received all-Region
II honors. In all, 14 area players - including four from Academy’s Lady Bees and a third all-state player, Matthew Addison of the Harker Heights boys - were named to the
TABC teams. The other all-region players include the Academy girls’ Barganier, Heather
Lisenbe, Jennifer Mraz and Jennifer Reed, the Jarrell boys’ Patrick Sherek and Andrew Sumner, and the Salado boys’
Ryan Clark - all in 2A’s Region IV. Weddington, a 6-foot post and Kansas signee, has also been selected
to play in the TABC’s 4A/5A All-Star Game on May 5 in San Antonio. She led the District 13-5A champion Tem-Cats with
13.7 points per game and her average of 5.7 rebounds was second as Temple claimed its first district title in 12 years. “Both are really deserving, and it shows you what kind of year we had as a team,” Temple coach Don Layton
said of Weddington and Combs. “You have to really have a great year to be recognized above and beyond all-district.” The Tem-Cats reached the Region II quarterfinals but fell 74-64 to Round Rock McNeil. Combs averaged
9.8 points, seven assists and 4.8 steals and earned a share of 13-5A’s Most Valuable Player award with Weddington and
Bryan’s Alisha Williams, another all-region selection. “It’s a big honor,” Layton said.
“For as many great girls basketball players as we have in the state, it’s a great honor to be voted to an all-region
team. And to be voted all-state, that’s also a great honor.” On the boys’ side, the 6-8 Permenter
earned his first all-region selection in his third varsity season. “I’m happy about it because
he put up some good numbers,” Wildcats coach Bruce Etheridge said. “He averaged a double-double a game and had
several triple-doubles. He just put up big-time nubmers for us.” Permenter averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds
and four blocked shots per game for the Wildcats, who finished in fifth place in 13-5A a year after claiming their second
straight district crown. The Academy girls had no trouble defending their 25-2A title with a perfect run through
the district, and the Lady Bees didn’t lose to a 2A team until they fell against Poth, 48-43, in the Region IV final
for the second consecutive season. On the boys’ side of 25-2A, Jarrell also made a perfect run through
district only to lose a heartbreaker in the Region IV championship game, 35-34 to San Antonio Cole. The Cougars ended up with
only half as many all-region selections - post Sherek and guard Sumner - as the Lady Bees, but that was more than enough for
coach Drew Sumner. “We made the final eight, and were one of the final two teams in the region,”
Sumner said. “So it’s pretty nice for them to be recognized; they both deserve it. We’re proud of them here
in Jarrell.” Sherek averaged 19 points per game, while Sumner - the coach’s son - averaged 13.
Salado’s Clark led the Eagles back to the playoffs a season after they reached the syaye tournament for the first time
in program history. Heights’
Addison, who paced the Knights to their first 13-5A championship, was named all-region along with his all-state honor. Killeen’s Tre Nichols and Jordan Brown made the all-Region II team in 4A after powering the Kangaroos to the
District 16-4A title, though they lost their first playoff game. Lampasas’ Tommy York joined them on the all-region
team.
High School Basketball: Four Knights named to All-District 13-5A first team
By Clay Fowler
Killeen Daily Herald
Celneque Bobbitt says he is only as good as his players.
Wednesday's announcement of the All-District 13-5A team confirmed both
the Harker Heights basketball coach and his players were pretty good in 2005-06.
Bobbitt was named coach of the year, Heights' guard Matt Addison unanimously
voted the district MVP and four district-champion Knights made the first team.
"We were in a competitive district, so you can't expect four of your five
starters to make the first team," said Bobbitt. "We couldn't
have asked for anything more."
Point guard Walt Harris, center Dustan Allen and forward Justin Reefer complete Heights' representation
on the first team following a school-record 30 wins opposite seven losses in the 2005-06 season.
A 73-71 regional quarterfinal overtime loss to Pflugerville knocked the
Knights out of the playoffs. The 6-foot-5 Harris scored a game-high 27 points in the losing effort, Addison 20 before fouling
out in overtime. Addison averaged 22 points this season.
"Matt was hands down the best kid in the district," said Bobbitt. "The Bryan coach (John Reese) was
telling me (Addison) has the purest shot he's seen in a long time."
Shoemaker post men Jamar Beasley and Keith Smith also made the first team. The Grey Wolves' leading
scorers led SHS to a 25-8 regular-season record and third-place finish in District 13-5A. Shoemaker lost a its bi-district
playoff game to Klein Forest.
The remaining
three members of the Grey Wolves' starting lineup were named to the second team: guards T.J. Dennis and Jamaal Skipper and
small forward Chris Poullard.
Ben Tharpe,
Shoemaker's third-leading scorer, and sophomores Calvin Glass and Jeremiah Ransaw were each honorable mention.
Heights forward Chris Ellis and guard Ronald Moore were named to the second
team and forward Rylan Chambers honorable mention.
Copperas Cove sophomore Robert Griffin was named to the first team, senior guard Jeff Russell earned
honorable mention. Cove broke a 38-game district losing streak on Jan. 13, topping Belton 50-36.
Heights lost just one district game opposite 13 wins in 2005-06, falling
at second-place Bryan 57-50 on Jan. 20. But the Knights avenged that loss with a dominant 17-point district-clinching victory
the final game of the regular season.
"It feels
good as a young coach coming up to be acknowledged by your peers," said Bobbitt. "But I always say you're only as good as
your kids."
High School Basketball Playoffs:
Pflugerville edges Knights in overtime, 73-71
GEORGETOWN With their season on the line, a fourth loss to Pflugerville was going to be anguishing for the Harker
Heights Knights no matter what. But Tuesday's 73-71 overtime loss to the 15th-ranked Panthers will sting for a long
time. Heights lost to the Panthers by 8-10 points in their three previous matchups this season, but this game was their's
for the taking and the Knights couldn't close the deal. Chris Ellison, who scored all 12 of his points off the bench
in the second half, hit the game-winning free throws with 8.77 seconds left. The Panthers then defended the Knights' final
possession well, keeping the ball out of Walter Harris' hands until it was too late. His harried wing jumper was well short
and wouldn't have counted anyway. "They've got our number," Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt said softly, minutes after
the Knights best season ever ended. Harris, who scored 27 points in his final high school game, was the Knights' only
option because leading scorer Matt Addison fouled out early in the overtime after picking up three quick fouls. He left with
20 points. "We'd beaten them three times and we didn't expect them to lay over and give it to us," Pflugerville coach
Mike Murphy said. "The kids just gave everything they had. I'm proud of them." Texas A&M signee Bryan Beasley also
scored 27 points for Pflugerville. He had 20 in the second half. Heights got off to a great start, scoring the first
seven points of the game, but Pflugerville (32-5) answered with a 10-2 run to take the lead late in the opening period. Ahdar
Mayen's basket inside put the Panthers up 14-11 and then the Knights (30-8) took control of the game. Harris scored
on a drive to start a 19-4 run. He scored 11 points in the run, and his layup following a Chris Ellis steal put the Knights
up 30-18. They left the floor at halftime with a 30-20 lead, having held the Panthers to 9-of-32 shooting (28 percent). Pflugerville
hit just one of nine 3-point tries. Murphy knew exactly what to tell his team. "We probably played as bad a
half as we could play and we're only down 10, so we're not out of it." The Knights extended the lead to 13, 40-27,
in the third quarter on Addison's 3-pointer from the corner. They led by nine heading into the final period. In the
fourth quarter, the Panthers turned up the pressure and the Knights didn't handle it well. The turnovers allowed Pflugerville
to erase the deficit rather quickly. Heights' sixth turnover in the fourth led to a Ellison 3-pointer that put the
Panthers on top for the first time in the second half. Mayen hit two foul shots with 3:08 left in regulation to give
Pflugerville a 57-54 lead, but Heights scored the next seven points on an Addison 3-pointer sandwiched by two Harris drives. The
Knights didn't score again, though, until Harris hit a baseline floater with 16 seconds to go to knot the game at 63. Pflugerville
missed a shot for the lead inside and then fouled on the scramble for the rebound, but the Knights weren't in the bonus. Addison
opened the overtime with a driving basket, but fouled out on a charge with 1:10 remaining and the Knights trailing 68-67. "This
is the first game Matt's ever fouled out this year," noted Bobbitt. With 15 seconds left, Harris hit two clutch free
throws in a one-and-one situation to tie the game at 71. The Panthers scored 27 points in the fourth quarter. "We
scored 30 the other night in the fourth quarter (against Klein Forest)," said Murphy, "so I guess that's our M.O. right now,
huh?" Pflugerville shot two free throws in the first three quarters, but they had 25 attempts in the fourth quarter
and overtime, and they made 21 of them. Meanwhile the Knights had 13 turnovers in the final 12 minutes, 10 more than
the Panthers. The Knights had 11 turnovers in the first 24 minutes. "We've got to pick up the pressure a lot of times,"
Murphy said. "Sometimes we want to lay back and watch them play and that gets us in trouble because we're not that type of
team." Pflugerville advanced to Friday's regional semifinal. They will play Mesquite in the second game of a doubleheader
at Baylor's Ferrell Center, beginning at 8 p.m. Mesquite defeated North Garland 73-70. Contact Mark W. Miller
at markm@kdhnews.com
Heights, Panthers vie for Sweet 16
HARKER HEIGHTS The old coaching
adage states that its difficult to beat a team three times in the same season.
That hasn't been the case between Pflugerville and Harker Heights, which
meet for the fourth time this season in a Class 5A regional quarterfinal game tonight at 7:30 at Georgetown High School.
The 15th-ranked Panthers (31-5)
defeated Heights (30-7) in all three previous matchups: 62-54 in Pflugerville on Nov. 22, 71-61 in the finals of Pflugerville's
tournament on Dec. 10, and 74-65 in the semifinals of the Capitol City Showdown
in Austin on Dec. 29.
Pflugerville coach Mike Murphy
can't really explain his team's superiority over the 20th-ranked Knights.
"I think there's some teams that you feel like you match well with," he
said. "I don't know what the formula is. I think if you look at both teams, they're similar."
Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt said it's because the Knights haven't been
good defensively.
"With the
way we played defense, I'm surprised it wasn't a 20-point game," he said. "They got layup after layup after layup. I don't
even know if they know if we can play defense over here at Harker Heights the way we played in those games."
The Knights, though, have been on a roll since, finishing their district
championship season with impressive blowouts of Shoemaker and Bryan.
"Hopefully we can take some of those things that we learned during district and play as a team,"
Bobbitt said, "because that's one thing that we did notice: It wasn't team basketball that was being played. It was a lot
of individual play and we weren't moving the ball around."
The Panthers, however, have also been playing well. Since a 72-63 loss to Cedar Hill in the Capital
City Showdown championship game, Pflugerville has won 14 of 15.
"We're well aware of that," Murphy said of Heights' late-season domination. "I think we're probably
both coming off pretty good rolls. That's what makes it interesting."
Pflugerville is led by point guard and Texas A&M signee Bryan Beasley, who averages 16 points
per game. Beasley is an exceptional shooter and driver.
Running mate Patrick Perkins is "right up there with Beasley as far as talent," according to Murphy.
He averages 14 points.
Six-foot-6
post Ahdare Mayen is Pflugerville's other double-figure scorer at 11 ppg.
Dexter McMarion and 6-6 Lance Murphy, the team's top rebounder, round out
a stellar starting five.
Besides Cedar
Hill, the few teams that have defeated Pflugerville this season are Round Rock Stony Point, Kingwood, New Braunfels Canyon
and San Antonio Warren.
The good news
for the Knights is the other three losses ultimately don't matter. But if they lose this one, they're done.
"If we get back on defense and make them play, I think it's going to be
a different game," Bobbitt said. "If we let them shoot layups and score in transition, it'll be the same 8-10 point margin."
Contact Mark W. Miller at markm@kdhnews.com
Heights starters
Matt Addison 22 ppg, 4.3 apg
Chris Ellis 6.9 ppg, 1 bpg
Walter Harris 12.5 ppg, 8.5 apg, 4.5 spg
Dustan Allen 8.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg
Justin Reefer 3.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg
High School Basketball Playoffs: Knights top Austin Westlake, 51-38
Saturday, February
25, 2006
By Mark W. Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
CEDAR PARK Austin Westlake had the right idea. It just didn't make much difference Friday.
Matt Addison scored 20 points and No. 20 HARKER HEIGHTS overcame the Chaparrals' plodding strategy to win its playoff opener, 51-38, at Vista Ridge High School.
Blown out 72-55 when the teams met in the regular season, the Chaps knew
their only chance to pull the upset was to keep the Knights in a half-court game. It worked in spurts, but the Knights simply
had too much depth and talent.
Dustan Allen
added 11 points and Walter Harris had nine for the Knights (30-7), who will face the Klein Forest-Pflugerville winner in the
next round. The game will likely be played in Bryan or College Station.
Nick Foles led District 16-5A runner-up Westlake (22-13) with 13 points. Cameron Gibson finished
with 11.
Westlake appeared
to be in deep trouble at halftime, trailing 27-13. But the Chaps were able to cut the deficit in half before the third quarter
ended.
It was deja
vu for HEIGHTS coach Celneque Bobbitt, who watched Westlake rally from a similar deficit Tuesday to defeat Round Rock in the first
round of the playoffs.
"I told the
kids, 'These guys are going to come back. These guys are going to play,' and then, lo and behold, we came out here trying
to play way too aggressive and started getting a lot of cheap fouls. And luckily they couldn't make those free throws there
for awhile."
Westlake was
4-for-11 at the foul line in the third period and finished 8-of-20 for the night.
"We've just been up and down all year long on shooting from the stripe,"
said Westlake coach Ben Faulkner. "It's one of those things that good teams make them and advance and those that don't stay
home.
"The sad thing
is it's usually our good shooters that are missing them."
Despite missing the freebies, the Chaps still had a chance to cut HEIGHTS' lead to five,
or four, at the start of the fourth quarter, but George Nelson blocked a Westlake shot and Addison scored at the other end
with a floater in the lane that nearly brought rain.
Addison then fed Allen for back-to-back baskets and the Knights were back up by 13.
"They did what I asked them to do," Faulkner said of his players, "which
was, for us, very hard to do because all year long we've been a very up-tempo and a transition-type team."
Westlake led early, but the Knights never trailed after Addison and Harris
drilled back-to-back 3-pointers late in the opening quarter. HEIGHTS was 4-of-10 from beyond the
arc in the first half.
The game then
got away from the Chaps in the second quarter when leading scorer Foles picked up his third foul with 4:30 remaining. Foles
was whistled for a charge just after kicking the ball out to Gibson for an open 3 that would have pulled Westlake within one.
Instead, the Knights' Allen
scored at the other end to start a 14-2 run to close the half.
The Chaps had success much of the night spreading their offense Princeton-style and then attacking
the basket.
"They were
shooting layups. I'm not going to lie about it," Bobbitt said. "They took our butts to the rack. We gotta go back and work
on some fundamental helpside defense."
Westlake finished
14-of-35 (40 percent) from the field. HEIGHTS was 19-of-43 (44 percent) from the field. The Chaps didn't have an offensive
rebound in the first half, but finished with eight.
The Knights weren't great at the foul line either, hitting 8-of-16.
Contact Mark W. Miller at markm@kdhnews.com
High School Basketball Playoffs: Knights top Austin Westlake, 51-38
CEDAR PARK
Austin Westlake had the right idea. It just didn't make much difference Friday.
Matt Addison scored 20 points and No. 20 Harker Heights overcame the Chaparrals' plodding strategy to win its playoff
opener, 51-38, at Vista Ridge High School.
Blown out 72-55 when the teams
met in the regular season, the Chaps knew their only chance to pull the upset was to keep the Knights in a half-court game.
It worked in spurts, but the Knights simply had too much depth and talent.
Dustan Allen added 11 points and Walter
Harris had nine for the Knights (30-7), who will face the Klein Forest-Pflugerville winner in the next round. The game will
likely be played in Bryan or College Station.
Nick Foles led District 16-5A
runner-up Westlake (22-13) with 13 points. Cameron Gibson finished with 11.
Westlake appeared to be in deep trouble at halftime, trailing 27-13. But the Chaps were able to cut the deficit in half
before the third quarter ended.
It was deja vu for Heights coach
Celneque Bobbitt, who watched Westlake rally from a similar deficit Tuesday to defeat Round Rock in the first round of the
playoffs.
"I told the kids, 'These guys are going to come
back. These guys are going to play,' and then, lo and behold, we came out here trying to play way too aggressive and started
getting a lot of cheap fouls. And luckily they couldn't make those free throws there for awhile."
Westlake was 4-for-11 at the foul line in the third period and finished 8-of-20 for the night.
"We've just been up and down all year long on shooting from the stripe," said Westlake coach Ben Faulkner. "It's one
of those things that good teams make them and advance and those that don't stay home.
"The sad thing is it's usually our good shooters that are missing them."
Despite missing the freebies, the Chaps still had a chance to cut Heights' lead to five, or four, at the start of the
fourth quarter, but George Nelson blocked a Westlake shot and Addison scored at the other end with a floater in the lane that
nearly brought rain.
Addison then fed Allen for back-to-back baskets
and the Knights were back up by 13.
"They did what I asked them to
do," Faulkner said of his players, "which was, for us, very hard to do because all year long we've been a very up-tempo and
a transition-type team."
Westlake led early, but the Knights
never trailed after Addison and Harris drilled back-to-back 3-pointers late in the opening quarter. Heights was 4-of-10 from
beyond the arc in the first half.
The game then got away from the
Chaps in the second quarter when leading scorer Foles picked up his third foul with 4:30 remaining. Foles was whistled for
a charge just after kicking the ball out to Gibson for an open 3 that would have pulled Westlake within one.
Instead, the Knights' Allen scored at the other end to start a 14-2 run to close the half.
The Chaps had success much of the night spreading their offense Princeton-style and then attacking the basket.
"They were shooting layups. I'm not going to lie about it," Bobbitt said. "They took our butts to the rack. We gotta
go back and work on some fundamental helpside defense."
Westlake finished 14-of-35 (40
percent) from the field. Heights was 19-of-43 (44 percent) from the field. The Chaps didn't have an offensive rebound in the
first half, but finished with eight.
The Knights weren't great at the
foul line either, hitting 8-of-16.
Contact Mark W. Miller at markm@kdhnews.com
High
School Basketball Playoffs: Knights to open against Westlake
HARKER HEIGHTS - Austin Westlake coach Ben Faulkner hopes to prove himself wrong tonight when his Chaparrals take
on No. 20 Harker Heights in the area round of the Class 5A playoffs.
The game is set for 7:30 at Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park.
Westlake lost to the Knights 72-55 in Harker Heights'
home opener on Nov. 18.
Following that game,
Faulkner predicted the Knights would go far in the playoffs.
"I hope that we make it a fun game to watch," Faulkner said Wednesday, a day after the Chaps
(22-12) rallied to beat Round Rock, 48-47, in the first round of the playoffs. "They've obviously got some very talented players.
Coach (Celneque) Bobbitt
does a great job and they're a team to reckon with for sure.
"Our kids know they've got to really come out and play to be in this game"
The Knights (29-7) figured to be a heavy favorite even
if Round Rock won, so Bobbitt has preemptively prepared his team to avoid getting big-headed.
"We had beat both teams pretty handily so we've been stressing
the importance of being ready to play. We've been going very, very hard with the kids. We're treating it like a state championship
game in talking to them, so hopefully that's not a concern. I think they're focused on what they have to do.
"Like I tell them, the next season we got if we lose a
game is the barbecue season. If we lose, it's time to go get your momma's backyard together and get the barbecue grill together
because that's the only thing to do unless you're running track."
And the Chaps are a tenacious bunch.
After a disastrous first quarter at Heights in which the Chaps fell behind 19-3, Westlake
played the Knights within one point the rest of the way. Westlake rallied from 10 down in the fourth quarter to eliminate
Round Rock.
"The kids we've got
play as hard as you could ask them to play and I think we've got some good chemistry on the team," Faulkner said. "They play
with a lot of heart. It's going to take a lot of that, obviously, in this next game coming up."
The Chaps are led by 6-foot-5 junior forward Nick Foles
(14.8 ppg) and junior guard Cameron Gibson (8 ppg, 3 apg). Guard Matt Zeigmann and forward Stephen Shaffer are other key contributors
for Westlake. Senior guard Logan Reichle was injured in Tuesday's game and his status is questionable.
One thing the Chaps know they have to do is dictate tempo.
The Knights are deadly in transition, even after the opponent makes a basket.
"We have to control the ball," Faulkner said. "I mean
it's real simple. They don't make any doubts about how they play. They're up-tempo and play a lot of pressure on you. We have
to be able to handle that pressure and control what we do offensively and slow them down."
The Chaps didn't handle that pressure in the first meeting,
turnover the ball over nine times and putting up just four shots in the first quarter.
"They're still a good, formidable opponent," Bobbitt said.
"They can beat us. We gotta get ready to play. They've already won a playoff game, too, so they could have a little momentum
going their way.
DIRECTIONS TO VISTA
RIDGE: Take I-35 south to Round Rock, exit at FM 1431 and head west. Turn left at Vista Ridge Parkway. School will be about
a mile south.
Contact Mark W. Miller at markm@kdhnew.com
High School Basketball: Harker Heights fine with warm-up defeat
Credit to Killeen
Daily Herald
HOUSTON The Harker
Heights boys basketball team lost its playoff warmup game Monday, but losing may never have felt so good.
The Knights went
toe-to-toe with Class 4A's seventh-ranked Houston Wheatley in the Wildcats' own backyard, losing 86-81.
Six-foot-eight
guard Lawrence Gilbert led Wheatley with 25 points. Dewayne Reed added 20 and Patrick Hughey Jr. 12. Matt Addison led the
20th-ranked Knights (29-7) with 22 points. Chris Ellis chipped in 14 and Walter Harris 13. Ronald Moore added 10 off the bench.
Wheatley (30-3)
has 12 seniors back from a squad that advanced to the state semifinals last season. The Wildcats trailed 77-73 after Harris
sank a pair of foul shots with 5:22 remaining, but responded by scoring the next seven points to take an 80-77 lead.
Moore gave the
Knights their last lead, 81-80, with two more free throws with 2:35 left, but the Knights never scored again, missing their
final nine shots.
Gilbert knocked
down a 17-footer at the other end, then came up with a steal and layup to put the Wildcats up 84-81. Afterward, Wheatley coach
Chester Smith said the Knights' stout challenge was exactly what he hoped for.
"I had no idea
they were that good," he said. "I had only heard about them. They have a great squad. If they continue to play like that,
they'll go far.
"The coach does
a good job with those kids. They're very disciplined and very unselfish. The only thing I think that might have helped us
tonight was, No. 1, we were in Houston, and No. 2, we play a little more physical than a lot of teams. We really get after
it."
Wheatley hounded
Heights into 18 turnovers, but the Wildcats were behind in that category until the second half, when they lost the ball only
four times. Addison and Ellis each hit 3-pointers early as the Knights jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead, but the Wildcats answered
with a 3-point barrage of their own and led 26-21 after a fast-paced first quarter.
Addison scored
nine of his points in the second quarter and Heights trailed 46-44 at halftime. Wheatley took its biggest lead, 57-50, early
in the third after a steal and layup by Ja'kwan Walton, but a 17-6 run, capped by Moore's 3-pointer, put Heights up by four.
During one stretch
early in the fourth quarter, the lead changed hands on five straight possessions. The Knights were originally slated to play
23-4A champ Channelview, but Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt didn't mind the late switch. The District 22-4A champ was the
team Bobbitt preferred to face all along. And he was ecstatic with how his team matched up.
"I liked it. It
was good for the kids," he said. "It was reassuring to me. I really think (Wheatley) is a heck of a team. I think this game
right here gets us ready for the Pflugervilles of the world.
"Like I told the
kids, we're playing this game for one reason, to get better and play in some adverse situations, and that's what we got.
Wheatley was 30-of-58
(51.7 percent) from the field, but missed 20 of 38 free throws. Heights was 27-of-62 (43.5 percent) from the field.
Contact Mark W.
Miller at markm@kdhnews.com
Heights' playoff warmup opponent changes
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS This could be better than the
real thing.
The 20th-ranked Harker Heights' boys basketball
will tune up for the playoffs with a warm-up game against Class 4A's seventh-ranked Houston Wheatley tonight at 7 at Barnett
Field House in Houston.
The Knights were originally slated to play District
23-4A champ Channelview in the first game of a doubleheader featuring Wheatley, but Channelview backed out.
The
switch was a stroke of luck for Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt, who wanted to play Wheatley all along. Bobbitt believes the 29-3 Wildcats have a backcourt
similar to Harker Heights nemesis Pflugerville, a team that has handed the 29-6 Knights half of their losses.
"It would give us another look at trying to cover some guards," Bobbitt said of a potential Wheatley matchup.
"We talked to a lot of folks, but nobody really wanted to play," said Bobbitt
The Knights planned to leave at 11 this morning. They will stop at A&M Consolidated for a shootaround before continuing
to Houston.
Heights has been one of the hottest teams in Central
Texas, winning seven straight, including blowout wins over Shoemaker and Bryan down the stretch.
"We're just trying to continue what we're doing," Bobbitt said. "Right now it seems like we're playing our best ball.
We want to continue to play that way."
The Knights earned a bye through
the first round of the playoffs, a reward for winning District 13-5A. They will face the Round Rock-Austin Westlake winner
in the second round this weekend.
Shoemaker will open the playoffs
Tuesday night in Bryan against Klein Forest. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
Shoemaker (25-8) finished third in 13-5A.
Also on Tuesday, Ellison will
take on Mansfield Timberview in a Class 4A bi-district game.
The game will be played at West
High School, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Ellison (23-8) finished as the runner-up in District 16-4A.
In Class 2A, Salado faces Wallis-Brazos in a bi-district playoff game Tuesday at Elgin. Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m.
Boys High School Basketball: Knights thump Bryan, win outright district title
Ain?t No Stopping Us Now? blared the sound system.
"The seniors have been
waiting four years for this," coach Celneque Bobbitt said. "They won the district when they were freshmen."
The game
had Bobbitt twisted in knots, but the Knights players put him at ease early.
"I haven't slept," he said. "These kids
knew it. "I couldn't even contain my emotions before the game."
Bryan led 4-2 early, but the Knights' Chris Ellis started
a 7-0 run with a drive down the lane. Justin Reefer followed with a steal and dunk and Heights was off to the races.
The
Knights hit four of five 3-pointers in the opening period two by Harris and led 28-8 heading into the second frame.
At
the other end, the Vikings started 2-for-13 from the field and committed eight turnovers.
"You couldn't have asked
for any better," Bobbitt said of the start. "It was almost unbelievable. I don't know what our shooting percentage was, but
it was astronomical."
The Knights led 44-18 at halftime and took their biggest lead, 55-22, in the third quarter after
Harris converted a rare four-point play.
"We didn't get a rhythm going early," said Bryan coach John Reese, who had
won district titles in each of his first three seasons with the Vikings. "They took us out of a lot of things defensively.
We struggled from the floor shooting the ball, we didn't rebound the ball and you can't do those things on the road in these
type of games."
The Vikings' Division I signees Leslie Jackson and Brandon Webster combined for just two baskets and
six points.
The 6-foot-10 Webster (Texas A&M) scored the first points of the game on a putback, but was mostly
invisible after that.
The Knights' effort perhaps was best exemplified by a sequence in the second quarter when George
Nelson, Reefer and Harris played volleyball on the offensive glass. They teamed for eight straight offensive rebounds before
Nelson finally scored to put Heights up 40-16.
The district title was also the first as a head coach for Bobbitt, the
former Killeen High star.
"As a head coach, it's an awesome feeling tonight," he said.
With their championship,
the Knights earned a bye through the first round of the state playoffs. Bobbitt hopes to set up a playoff warmup game for
Friday.
Contact Mark W. Miller at markm@kdhnews.com
Vikings let title slip away
Harker Heights wins 13-5A crown
By TIM SCHNETTLER
Eagle Staff Writer
HARKER HEIGHTS - The Harker Heights Knights left no doubt who the District 13-5A basketball champion is, and it came at
the expense of the Bryan Vikings.
Heights stormed to a 20-point lead by the end of the first quarter and kept control from there for a 63-46 victory.
The 20th-ranked Knights (29-6, 13-1) earned the top seed and a bye in the first round of the playoffs, which begin next
week.
"It has been six years coming for us," Heights head coach Celneque Bobbitt said of the championship. "Two years we had
second-place finishes. I talked to the guys, and we have been so focused. The guys told me we had it, and they took care of
it."
Bryan, which would have claimed a co-championship and the district's top seed with a victory, dropped to 24-8 overall and
11-3 in district. The Vikings will be 13-5A's second seed in the playoffs and will face the third-place team from District
14-5A, which will conclude its regular season Friday. Bryan's possible first-round opponents include Klein Collins, The Woodlands,
Huntsville and Klein Forest.
Heights took control of Tuesday's contest from the start. After Bryan's Brandon Webster scored the first points of the
game off an offensive rebound, the Knights outscored Bryan 28-6 over the rest of the first quarter.
Bryan hit 2 of 14 shots in the quarter. More than 5 minutes elapsed between Webster's field goal and the Vikings' next,
a basket by Leslie Jackson with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left in the period.
"You can't come out in a ball game of this magnitude as flat as we did and just get taken out of everything," Bryan head
coach John Reese said. "We got a lot of one shots and out. We didn't get into a rhythm, and that's what we are about, that's
what we've got to do. We talked about trying to be focused, and trying to come out and establish ourselves early, and we didn't
do that. [Heights] did what they were supposed to do."
Harker Heights' Matthew Addison led all scorers with 19 points, and Walter Harris had 18. The duo combined to make 3 of
the 4 first-quarter 3-pointers, with another coming from Ronald Moore.
Tyrone McMurray led Bryan with 12 points. Artrell Woods added nine points, while the Vikings' leading scorer entering the
game, Leslie Jackson, scored just three points, going 0 for 5 from 3-point range.
Bryan shot better in the second half, hitting 50 percent (12 of 24), but the Vikings were never able to put together any
kind of run to threaten the Knights.
Harker Heights 63, Bryan 46
(numbers indicate field goals, free throws-free throw attempts, points)
BRYAN (24-8, 11-3) - Allyn Cooks 1 0-0 2, Tim Green 2 0-1 4, Chris Ellis 1 0-0 3, Xavien Burleson 0 0-0 0, Tyrone McMurray
4 2-2 12, Ricky Taylor 1 4-6 6, Leslie Jackson 1 1-2 3, Artrell Woods 4 1-4 9, Jody Golsan 1 0-0 2, Tyrone Johnson 1 0-0 2,
Brandon Webster 1 1-2 3. TOTALS: 17 9-17 46.
HARKER HEIGHTS (29-6, 13-1 in 13-5A) - Derrick Broadnax 1 0-0 2, Justin Reefer 2 2-4 6, Ronald Moore 1 0-0 3, Matthew Addison
8 1-1 19, Walter Harris 7 1-1 18, Chris Ellis 2 2-2 6, Rylan Chambers 1 0-0 2, Dustin Allen 1 1-4 3, Tyler McGuire 0 0-0 0,
Greg Nelson 2 0-0 4, Walter Hyde 0 0-0 0, Anthony Moye 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25 7-12 63.
Bryan 8 10 13 15 - 46
Harker Heights 28 16 14 5 - 63
Rebounds - Bryan 26, Heights 35. Fouls - Bryan 14, Heights 17. Fouled out - (B) None. (H) Ellis. Turnovers - Bryan 19 for
10 Heights points. Heights 17 for 10 Bryan points.
Stat Leaders - Rebounds: (B) Woods 6, Taylor 4, Johnson 4. (H) Reefer 9, Chambers 6, Nelson 6, Harris 5.
Wildcats' effort not enough
by Tim Waits
Published February 8, 2006
By TIM WAITS
Now that the Temple Wildcats have transitioned into the role of spoiler, they decided to pull
out all of the stops Tuesday night against District 13-5A co-leader Harker Heights.
Wearing their road blue uniforms to conjure up the kind of success they have had elsewhere at
times yet has eluded them at home, the Wildcats put forth an inspired effort for much of the evening.
However, the onslaught of weapons in the Knights’ arsenal proved too much for the Wildcats
to overcome as Heights remained at the top of the district standings after a 67-50 victory over Temple at Wildcat Gym.
Heights moved to 27-6 overall and 11-1 in 13-5A, which it leads by itself after co-leader Bryan
lost to College Station A&M Consolidated on Tuesday.
Temple, a 13-5A champion the previous two seasons, dipped to 12-17 and 5-7 with two games remaining
and officially dropped out of contention for a third consecutive playoff spot.
“We tried to push all the buttons,” Temple coach Bruce Etheridge said. “We’re
limited in some of the things we can do. We pretty much maximized our effort with the inexperienced players we have.”
The Wildcats battled to within five points at 40-35 at the six-minute mark of the third quarter
following a couple of buckets from Johnny Davis and a scoring drive by Terrell Jackson.
But just as quickly, the Knights went back up by 12 after seven straight points by Ronald Moore,
Dustan Allen and Walter Harris.
It was Harris who caught fire in the third quarter, pouring in 14 of his game-high 25 points in
the frame, including the Knights’ last 11 points with a 3-pointer at the buzzer for good measure. That propelled the
Knights to a 56-43 lead going into the final eight minutes.
“He’s a big-time player,” Etheridge said. “You can play good defense on
him and he can still score.”
The Wildcats came out of the gate determined and went toe-to-toe with the Knights, leading most
of the first quarter. Temple opened a six-point lead at 12-6 with the aid of baskets by Davis, Jackson and C.J. Stockton.
Heights whittled that down to 15-11 before sneaking ahead on a 3 by Harris and a putback by Rylan
Chambers for a 16-15 lead.
Temple’s offensive prowess couldn’t match its intensity as the Knights outscored the
Wildcats 19-12 in the second quarter for a 35-27 halftime lead.
Davis pumped in four 3s for a 17-point total to pace the Wildcats. Jackson added 12 and Russ Permenter
finished with eight, well below his average. Matthew Addison contributed 15 points for Heights.
“There’s a reason why Heights is in first in our district,” said Etheridge,
whose team will play its home finale Friday night against Killeen Shoemaker. “They have a team similar to one we had
last year. They can score from all five spots and that makes it tough. You just hope to catch them on an off night.
“We played hard and we’re going to play it out,” he said. “We’re
going to give a good effort. We are trying to win games. Our tradition is too strong not to.”
High School Basketball: Knights knock out rival Grey Wolves, 84-53
By Clay Fowler
Killeen Daily
Herald
Harker Heights missed its second field goal of Tuesday
night's game with 17 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
When Matt Addison's third 3-pointer
of the night banked in exactly 17 seconds later Heights' 10th made basket of the game the Knights knew they could afford it.
Heights shot 75 percent in the first two quarters of an 84-53 win over the
Grey Wolves at Shoemaker.
Matt Addison
did not miss a first-half shot en route to a 32 point night.The Heights guard had 23 by the 2:37 mark of the second quarter.
"I don't know what got into my guys," said Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt. "I knew we were going to play good but God
almighty, I didn't know it would be this good.
"This is one of the proudest moments
ever for Harker Heights."
The Knights (25-6, 9-1 District
13-5A) built a 22-5 lead 6 minutes and 14 seconds into the game. They led by 23 two minutes into the second quarter.
The Heights lead reached its peak of 33 three times, the first with just over 2:30 left in the third quarter.
"They were hot and we were flat," said Shoemaker coach Rick Kirkpatrick.
The Knights kept pace with first-place Bryan, who engineered its own blowout Tuesday night, 85-57, over Temple. Bryan
beat Heights in their first meeting, but the Knights will host the second meeting on Feb. 14, the last game of the regular
season.
Shoemaker (21-8, 6-4) is still in control of its
playoff destiny, having fallen a game behind third-place Waco, who hosts the Grey Wolves on Tuesday.
"We still have a shot at the playoffs," said Shoemaker coach Rick Kirkpatrick. "We just need to get over this game and
get back to playing our style of basketball."
Heights finally played its style
against slow-down Shoemaker, something, according to Bobbitt, it hadn't done since the two schools began their rivalry in
2000. The more aggressive Knights forced seven first-quarter turnovers on their way to 28 first-quarter points.
Easy baskets, however, were not plentiful. Much of the damage was done from outside.
"I felt like we had a hand in their face on a lot of those shots," said Kirkpatrick. "I don't know what you can do when
they're making everything from outside and they throw it inside and they're making everything in there."
Dustan Allen took over the game in the third quarter, scoring nine of his 14 in the frame. When the 6-foot-8 center dropped
in a baby hook with 3:50 to play in the third, Heights led 60-30.
"Dustan Allen played like a post
man for the first time in his life tonight," said Bobbitt."And what is hard for us is we usually get comfortable with our
lead and let teams come back on us. We didn't do that tonight."
With four games remaining and
the district trailing the first-place teams by two games, if Heights doesn't let the field come back, it could be looking
at a district title.
Said Kirkpatrick, "If Heights keeps playing like
that, they'll be playing in the Erwin Center."
High School Basketball: Knights keep pace with 63-52 win over A&M Consolidated
HARKER
HEIGHTS The Knights were lucky to escape College Station with a victory on Jan. 3 against
A&M Consolidated. Friday's rematch wasn't quite as tough for the Harker Heights boys basketball team, but they definitely
had their hands full in a 63-52 victory.
The Knights won the first meeting in overtime.
"Always, always, always. That's one thing about those Tigers. They come ready to play," Heights
coach Celneque Bobbitt said. "Luckily we've held court every year that they've come down here, but goodness gracious, every
time it's a battle."
Matt Addison led the Knights (24-6, 8-1 District 13-5A),
who maintained a share of first place in 13-5A with Bryan, with 27 points.
Detron Lewis
scored 20 to lead Consolidated (10-16, 3-6). Chad Kolbe added 16.
The Tigers
set the tone early, scoring the first six points of the game.
Heights answered
with a 17-3 run, but A&M clawed back and led 27-26 until Justin Reefer was fouled with one second left in the first half
after grabbing an offensive rebound. He made both foul shots to give the Knights a 28-27 halftime lead.
The offensive board work kept Heights in the game. The Knights outrebounded A&M 24-11 in the first half and scored
eight points after rebounding their own misses.
"I'm glad Justin Reefer came
ready to play tonight," Bobbitt said. "It seemed like we were flat and then we got a lot of fouls on the wrong people."
Walter Harris spent much of the game on the bench after picking up his third foul early in the second
quarter.
"Anytime your point guard gets in trouble it kind of deadens the game," said Bobbitt.
"I just thought we didn't match the energy early in the game. And we had two good practices. That's what's bad about it."
Kolbe's 3-pointer in the right corner put the Tigers up 37-35, but Addison answered at the other
end, driving the baseline for a bucket.
After Lewis missed two free throws, the Tigers got a
steal that led to a breakaway, but Dustan Allen swatted the shot off the backboard from behind. The ball caromed all the way
out to Chris Ellis near the top of the circle and he quickly passed to Addison streaking for a layup.
Another Addison drive stretched the Heights lead to 43-37, but Lewis cut the lead in half with an NBA-length trey in
front of the Consolidated bench.
The Knights played for the last shot of the third period
and executed perfectly. The A&M defense collapsed on Addison as he drove the lane in the final seconds. He kicked the
ball out to Tyler McGuire for an open 3-pointer as the horn sounded.
Consolidated
never got closer than six again.
"My kids have been playing like that, like warriors,
all year long," Consol coach Rusty Segler said, "but as you can see with our short bench and getting kids hurt and in foul
trouble, there wasn't much we could do.
"You know the smart coach probably puts us in a 2-3 zone
but our weapon is our man-to-man defense and we're going to go down dying with that.
"(The Knights are) a great team. They're one of the best teams in the state and I'm proud of how my kids played."
The Knights were 10-for-26 (38 percent) from the field in the first half, but were 11-of-16 (69
percent) in the second, helping offset their 20 turnovers.
Allen added eight
points and 10 rebounds for the Knights. Harris also had eight.
Heights travels
to Shoemaker on Tuesday.
Area Roundup: Heights boys fall to Bryan for first district
loss
From staff reports
BRYAN Despite 20 points from Matt Addison, the Harker Heights Knights
picked up their first blemish on their District 13-5A record with a 57-50 loss to host Bryan on Friday.
Walter Harris
added 15 for Heights (22-6, 6-1 in district). "We stayed within six for most of the game, but we just couldn't get over the
hump," HHHS coach Celneque Bobbitt said. "Bryan had excellent pressure the entire game and we just couldn't break it. The
(officials) calls were a little inconsistent, but that wasn't the difference. We'll be ready when they come to our place."
Bryan
(19-5, 7-0) was led by Leslie Jackson (15 points) and Ricky Taylor (12 points).
High School Basketball: Knights ease past Dawgs, 59-42
By Mark W. Miller
Killeen
Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS The Harker Heights boys basketball team opened its game against
Copperas Cove on Tuesday with 3 dazzling minutes. As for the other 31? Well, they were good enough. Matt Addison
scored 19 points and the Knights, perhaps still hung over from losing their battle for first place Friday in Bryan, slogged
their way through a 59-42 victory over the Bulldawgs. The best news for Heights (23-6, 7-1 District 13-5A) came later
Tuesday when Shoemaker defeated Bryan 60-50, putting the Knights back into a tie for first. Heights opened the game
with a 14-0 run in which point guard Walter Harris dished out four assists, the Knights forced five turnovers and made five
of their first eight shots. But they missed 19 of their next 24 shots including nine of 10 3-point tries and the pesky
Bulldawgs (5-23, 1-7) were down only eight at halftime, 26-18. "We shot waaaaay too many jump shots," Heights coach
Celneque Bobbitt said. "I think I subbed out a little too early as well. "It looks like we're getting into a little
lull right now. We were so high Friday night and then go down there and the things that happened happened and we didn't play
like we were supposed to ... and had two miserable practices." The Knights were better in the second half, making 11
of 18 shots (61 percent) to keep the Dawgs at bay. Addison opened the half just like he opened the game, drilling a
3-pointer from the right side that started a 13-4 run. Cove never got closer than 13 the rest of the way. Robert Griffin
led the Bulldawgs with 15 points. Justin Young finished with eight. Dustan Allen added 12 for the Knights, who host
A&M Consolidated on Friday. Cove, which has lost three straight since snapping its 38-game district losing streak,
hosts Shoemaker on Friday.
High School Basketball: Knights remain unbeaten in district, crush BeltonBy Mark W. Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS
If the Harker Heights boys basketball team was looking ahead to an anticipated battle for first place on Friday with Bryan,
it sure didn't show.
Or maybe it
just didn't matter against the overmatched Belton Tigers.
Matt Addison scored 22 points in limited action and the Knights cruised to a 76-43 victory that would
have been much worse if not for coach Celneque Bobbitt's liberal substitutions.
Bobbitt's starting
five played played together less than 13 minutes and outscored the Tigers 47-8.
Belton (4-20, 0-5 District 13-5A) was coming off a 14-point loss Friday
at Copperas Cove that ended the Bulldawgs' 38-game district losing streak.
"Belton is rebuilding and my guys have played some real good competition
this year," Bobbitt said. "We got better, and I do have the luxury of having some pretty good players this year."
In their 12-plus minutes on the floor together, Heights' starting five
Addison, Justin Reefer, Chris Ellis, Dustan Allen and Walter Harris were 19-of-31 (62 percent) from the field and forced 20
turnovers. The fivesome only turned the ball over twice and held the Tigers to 4-of-11 from the field.
Belton led only briefly after gaining control of the opening tip. Terrance
Ransom scored from the baseline to put the Tigers up 2-0, but the Knights (22-5, 6-0) answered with a 20-4 run.
Addison had five of his eight steals in that span and cashed them in for
two layups and four free throws.
When the lead
reached 24-6, Bobbitt turned to his bench. The Tigers took advantage, pulling within 12 in the second quarter against Bobbitt's
"20-20 bunch" that comes in when the Knights are up or down 20 points.
"They came in and didn't do a good job, but they did a better job in the second half. And a lot of
them were just nervous," said Bobbitt.
"I wasn't
upset. When you put in your third group, you kind of expect that."
The starters returned for a 12-2 run, and then Bobbitt played three and two starters the rest of
the half as the Knights built a 51-21 lead.
The starters played just 2:36 to start the first half, leaving after a 9-0 run. They returned for
the first 1:37 of the fourth quarter and outscored Belton 6-0.
Ellis was the only other Heights starter in double figures with 11 points. Walter Hyde added 10 off
the bench.
Justen Aguillon
and Clinton Brown led Belton with seven. Four other Tigers scored six.
Premium update late tonight: Harker Heights mauls Templeby about 26. Too
much Matt Addison. The little guy goes for about 29 in about 3 quarters of action. Read about it in premium late tonight.
Johnny Davis hits 24 in loss, but it was clearly the Matt Addison show tonight.
-Killeen Harker Heights-78 Temple-52
5-8 senior
PG/SG Matthew Addison scored 29 points (10-16, 6-7) in a little over 3 quarters as Heights blasted Temple.
6-7 senior
PF Dustan Allen added 7 points (including a three) and 8 rebounds; while 6-4 senior SF Walt Harris chipped in 14.
For Temple,
5-7 senior PG/SG Johnny Davis scored 24 points and 6-7 junior C Russ Permenter added 10.
High School Basketball: Knights take it to Temple, 78-52 By Mark W. Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS When the Harker Heights basketball team has taken a big lead, too often
the Knights have let it slip away.
But Friday, they finally
delivered the knockout punch coach Celneque Bobbitt has been waiting for.
Matt Addison scored 29 points and the Knights dominated the second and third quarters of a 78-52 win over the Temple Wildcats.
The Knights
(21-5, 5-0 District 13-5A) made just four of 18 shots in the first quarter, but still led 14-10. And during the next two periods,
they could hardly miss.
The Knights made 21 of their next 29 shots
to take a 66-41 lead early in the fourth quarter.
"Our main
deal has been focusing on finishing games," Bobbitt said, "and finally, for once, we finished. I think we kind of took the
life out ofTemple."
Seven different Heights players scored in the
second quarter, when the Knights were 12-of-16 from the field and scored 28 points to take a 42-27 halftime lead. And they
did much of the damage without starters Justin Reefer, Walter Harris and Dustan Allen, who each picked up three fouls.
"Ronald Moore, Derrick Broadnax and Rylan Chambers all came in as reserves and did a great
job and they actually helped extend that lead out," Bobbitt said.
Meanwhile, it was a struggle for the Wildcats, who shot 18-of-55 (33 percent) on the night. Many of their misses, especially
on 3-pointers the Wildcats were 5-of-21 from long range led to fast-break opportunities for the Knights.
"They played extremely well and we played extremely bad," saidTemplecoach Bruce Etheridge. "When you combine those
two, it's like running into a buzzsaw.
"Tonight just wasn't
our night. We couldn't shoot it, we couldn't pass it and they had a lot to do with it. That's one of the reasons they're one
of the top teams in our district, because they play defense so well and they have so many threats on the offensive end.
"They're probably the best running club in the district. I mean they run probably better
than Bryan as far as transition."
Heights' lead surged
past the 20-point mark early in the third quarter when 6-foot-8 post Allen found himself wide open, hesitated, then tossed
in a 3-pointer.
Bobbitt said that's a shot Allen can make consistently.
"When he first came in, he was a great 3-point shooter (but) he couldn't post," Bobbitt
said. "We tried to get him down there to work on his post and then, lo and behold, his jump shot goes awry."
Allen finished with nine points and 11 rebounds. Broadnax and Harris each scored 12 points.
Johnny Davis led Temple with 24 points.
The only knock on the Knights' performance was some careless fouls. The Knights fouled a Temple player in the act of shooting a 3-pointer
five times. But even that didn't hurt as the Wildcats converted just five of the 13 free throws.
The Knights took their biggest lead, 71-42, after Addison was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and made all three free throws with
6:18 remaining. Bobbitt then emptied his bench.
"One game
doesn't make a season so we're going to keep it in perspective," Etheridge said.
Temple (10-12, 3-2) was just a game behind 13-5A leaders HeightsandBryan when the night started. The Wildcats still hold a share of third place
with Waco, which defeated Shoemaker on Friday.
Harker
Heights finds antidote for Lions, 74-63
By Chad Conine, Tribune-Herald staff writer
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Harker Heights'
coach Celneque Bobbitt knew Waco High would make its move in the second half, so he made sure the Knights made theirs first.
A 14-4 burst
early in the third quarter helped Harker Heights build a 16-point lead against the Lions and the Knights held on to win, 74-63,
Tuesday night at the Waco High gymnasium.
Bobbitt didn't
have any special message for his players in the halftime locker room. He said they emphasize the start of each half as a team
principal and the preparation paid off in the form of a key district road win.
“Last
year we had a lead at the half and they came back and handed it to us,” Bobbitt said. “The first three minutes
of the third quarter is a low point for most teams. So we try to give a real big push in the first three minutes of every
half.”
Knights' guard
Matt Addison, who scored a game-high 22 points, was at his best during Harker Heights' key run. Addison scored six
straight points, including making steals on the defensive end and converting them to layups on consecutive plays. Walter Harris
and Chris Ellis chipped in with baskets as the Knights put up 10 quick points to begin the third.
J Powell and
Kevin Landrum each had baskets for Waco High (9-12, 2-2 in 13-5A), keeping Harker Heights from building
an even bigger lead during its surge. But the Lions' comeback attempt couldn't cut the Knights' lead to less than nine points
the rest of the way.
Waco High made
a push at the end of the second quarter and trailed by six going into halftime. Lions' coach Newton Grimes said he was disappointed
his team couldn't keep it up in the third quarter.
“We thought
we had the momentum,” Grimes said. “We handed them the ball for uncontested layups too many times there and then
after that we pretty much won the second half.”
Harker Heights (20-5, 4-0)
stayed even with Waco High on the boards and played tough defense in the interior to keep the Lions at a distance. Ellis had
two blocks midway through the third quarter and Harris added a key swat with just less than two minutes remaining.
Waco High couldn't
capitalize on a rash of turnovers by Harker Heights in the fourth
quarter. The Knights committed 12 turnovers in the contest, seven of which came in the last five minutes. However, the Lions
made just one transition bucket in that period.
“We always
get to the last two minutes and get flustered,” Bobbitt said. “We worked on that for 30 minutes yesterday. I guess
we'll have to work on it for an hour tomorrow.”
Harker Heights stretched out
a 19-8 lead with a 6-0 run at the end of the first period. Justin Reefer, who had 11 of his 13 points in the first half, made
two jumpers and Rylan Chambers added a put-back layup. Chambers finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
Powell led Waco
High with 20 points. Ron Horne was the only other Waco High player in double figures with 11 points, while Marquell Harris
had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Knights down Grey Wolves, 46-43By Mark W.
Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS It wasn't easy, but the Harker Heights Knights protected
their home court and kept a share of the District 13-5A lead.
Matt Addison scored 22 points and made three of four foul shots down the stretch as the Knights eked
out a 46-43 victory over Shoemaker on Friday.
The intense, physical battle a recent hallmark of the Knights-Wolves rivalry wasn't decided until
the final buzzer, when Shoemaker's Ben Tharpe missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer.
"It's a great game," said Shoemaker coach Rick Kirkpatrick. "It always is. Anytime these two teams
get on the floor it's going to be extremely intense, both teams are going to play as hard as they can play and it's probably
not going to be real pretty basketball just because of the way both teams play very physical."
Shoemaker, down by as much as 14 in the first half, never led until scoring
the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take a 39-36 lead.
Keith Smith, who led the Wolves with 13 points, scored five points in the run.
After a timeout, Addison helped the Knights reclaim the lead, hitting a
jumper inside the foul line then stealing the ball for another basket.
Jamaal Skipper's steal and layup with 45 seconds remaining
Even though the Wolves overcame it, Kirkpatrick still lamented a poor start
that enabled Heights to grab a big early lead.
"I think the difference is they started off on a 10-1 run and kind of got us in a hole early and
we never fully recovered from that."
The Knights
(19-5, 3-0 13-5A) stretched the lead to 23-9 midway through the second quarter, but Shoemaker (16-6, 1-2) scored the last
10 points of the half to pull within four.
"That 10-0 run could have put us up 10 just as easily," said Kirkpatrick.
"I was proud of our kids for competing the last three quarters. I don't
think we were ready to paly tonight coming into the game."
Heights was playing without starting post Dustan Allen, who has the flu. He was hopeful of being
able to play, but his temperature soared to 104 during the day.
"He walked out of here and he looked like I did at the end of the game full-blood sweat on him,"
said Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt.
Rylan Chambers
started in his place.
"Rylan Chambers
saved the day," Bobbitt said. "He did a great job on covering Keith Smith, who's a pretty good athlete."
Heights' Harris, who also hit two big foul shots down the stretch, was
the only other playing in double figures, finishing with 13 points.
The teams were nearly even from the field. Heights made 17 of 42 shots while Shoemaker was 16-of-41.
The Grey Wolves won the battle of the boards 32-21.
Both teams are on the road Tuesday. Heights travels to Waco while Shoemaker heads to A&M Consolidated.
Heights takes third at
Capital City Showdown tourney
From staff reports
AUSTIN Paced by 24 points by Matt Addison, the Harker Heights Knights toppled Round Rock
Westwood 63-52 to finish third at the Capital City Showdown.
Dustan Allen added 13 for the Knights (17-5), while Ronald
Moore tossed in 10.
Leading by only two heading into the fourth, Heights' defense stepped up and held Westwood to just
eight points in the final eight minutes.
The Knights return to District 13-5A action on Tuesday when they travel to
College Station to take on A&M Consolidated, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Late Thursday:
• Harker Heights
59, No. 10 Bowie 58 At Austin, the Knights won what coach Celneque Bobbit labeled a revenge game in far from a conventional
manner.
Matt Addison's fadeaway as time expired, the last of the senior's 27 points, gave Heights the victory over
Bowie, which topped the Knights in a thriller earlier in the season, sending Heights to the Capitol City Showdown semifinals.
However,
just before his game-winner, Addison called a timeout just before his teammate, Walt Harris, layed in what would have been
the go-ahead basket.
Preceeding that were two Heights turnovers and Addison's miss of the front end of a one-and-one.
But Dustan Allen's steal with 15 seconds left and Bowie leading by one provided Heights the last possession.
Allen
scored nine points. Harris added eight.
• No. 13 Pflugerville 74, Harker Heights 65 The Knights' emotional win
may have led to their slow start in a semifinal meeting with Pflugerville.
After falling behind by 10 in the first
quarter, Heights never recovered enough to threaten the 13th-ranked Pathers.
Addison scored 19 points, Allen 14, but
four Pflugerville players scored 14 or more.
"It was a sluggish game," said Bobbitt. "After we got down 19-9 we were
playing catch-up the whole game. Every time we'd close the gap they would go on another run."
Knights win two in Capital City Showdown
AUSTIN Matt Addison scored 41 points to lead the Harker Heights Knights to a pair of wins Wednesday in the Capital City
Showdown. Addison led 15 Knights in the scoring column with 14 points in a 71-45 win over Austin Travis in first-round play.
Heights (15-4) took control early, outscoring the Rebels 25-6 in the first period, to advance to a second-round matchup with
Houston Lamar. Addison tossed in 27 points in that game, including three 3-pointers. Dustan Allen added nine points and Walter
Harris finished with eight. Will Holland led Lamar with 17 points. The Knights return to action at 1 p.m. today at Austin
Bowie High School against either Bowie or Cedar Park.
Boys High School Basketball: Knights topple Dawgs in 13-5A opener, 59-37
By Monty Campbell Killeen Daily Herald
COPPERAS COVE Despite a frigid gymnasium and a first quarter to match, the Harker Heights Knights turned up the defensive
heat in the second quarter and cruised to a 59-37 victory Tuesday night at Copperas Cove, to open the District 13-5A season.
Heights (13-4, 1-0) used a 15-2 run midway through the second quarter, backed by their trapping defense, to open up a 12 point
halftime lead after the game was tied one quarter in. "AdvertisementThe things that we worked on all week in preparation for
this contest are still hurting us," a frustrated Cove head coach Jay Parker said. "We knew they were going to do that coming
into the game but we executed very well in the first quarter, blocking out and taking good shots, but still need to work on
handling the pressure." Matthew Addison started the run with a steal of a Justin young pass and a lay-up on the other end
of the floor as the Knights were trying to hang onto a slim one-point lead at 15-14. That was just the beginning as he and
his teammates were able to force seven more turnovers in the quarter. Addison continued to penetrate the Bulldawg defense
in the quarter and was a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe, scoring seven of his game high 21 points in the second quarter,
for a 30-18 half-time lead. Copperas Cove (3-13, 0-1) did not receive any sympathy from the Knights to start the second half.
Dustan Allen used his height and weight advantage against the smaller Bulldawgs, pouring in nine of his 18 points on the evening
in the third quarter. Addison was the only other Knight to score in the period, scoring nine in the quarter and finishing
his evening with a 3-pointer in the final minute of the quarter. "He (Addison) shoots an astronomical percentage from the
field," Harker Heights head coach Celneque Bobbitt said. " He takes a lot of shots, but the ones he takes, he makes." Robert
Griffin tried valiantly to keep Cove in the game in the second half, scoring six of his team-high 11 points, but the size
difference was too much to overcome and Cove was looking up at the wrong end of a 48-29 score after three quarters. Neither
team mounted much offense in the final quarter as both sides rested their starters. The Bulldawgs came out in the opening
minutes of the game and matched the Knights blow for blow, looking to finally get the 34-game-District 13-5A-losing-streak-monkey
off of their back. Jeff Russell drained a deep 3-pointer midway through the quarter to cut the deficit to 7-6. The two teams
went back and forth for the majority of the rest of the quarter with Cove taking a slim one-point lead at 12-11 before Allen
hit the front-end of his two free-throws to tie the score. "Basically, we knew coming into the game that we had to jump on
them," Bobbitt said. "The kids knew that Cove was having a difficult year so it was hard to keep them focused and we didn't
do a good job of it in the first quarter and that's why we started to trap." Both teams will get the mandatory 5-day break
before returning to the court for holiday tournaments.
Boys basketball preview: Less room at the top of District 13-5A this year
By Clay Fowler Killeen Daily Herald
District 13-5A's elite from a season ago will have their work cut out for them if they are to retain their lofty status.
Waco and Temple were co-district champs last season. Surging at the end of last year, however, were the three teams that finished
behind them: Harker Heights, Shoemaker and Bryan. Heights and Shoemaker missed out on a three-way playoff with Bryan for the
final postseason berth when the Knights fell to Bryan in Advertisement the final game of the season. Shoemaker won its last
six games of 2004-05, Heights four of its last five. Both, however, had nothing to show for it. It may not be a coincidence
that the Grey Wolves and Knights have compiled the two best predistrict records this season. Temple, though talented, has
a losing record through 12 games. Waco has played a difficult predistrict schedule, but the Lions have already surpassed last
year's loss total. The slate, however, is wiped clean before district play begins tonight. Neither winning streaks nor losing
streaks, from this season or last, matter anymore. Here is a glance at each of the eight District 13-5A boys basketball teams:
• Harker Heights (12-4) Matt Addison has established himself as the player to watch in District 13-5A. But the Knights'
senior shooting guard hasn't played in District 13-5A yet. Addison has consistently scored 20-plus points through Heights'
successful predistrict run, topping out at 40 in a win over then No. 13 San Antonio Reagan on Dec. 10. The Knights, however,
are far from a one-man team. Point guard Walter Harris, forward Chris Ellis and transfers Ronald Moore (Alaska) and Rylan
Chambers (Florence) form a formidable supporting cast, one that had the Knights ranked 16th in the state entering the season.
Heights has a towering front line featuring the 6-foot-7 Chambers, 6-8 Dustan Allen and 6-5 Ellis. Even the point guard, Harris,
is 6-5. Heights has been tested in the early going, finishing second in a Pflugerville tournament with two ranked teams at
the time, not including tournament champ Pflugerville, which has since been tabbed the No. 13 5A team in the state. "It's
going to go down to guarding your home court and trying to sneak a couple out on the road," said head coach Celneque Bobbitt.
• Shoemaker (11-4) The Grey Wolves have come together nicely in predistrict play, emerging from a difficult schedule
with an impressive record. Lanky senior forward Jamaar Beasley, the tallest player on the undersized Grey Wolves at 6-foot-4,
has carried the scoring load while point-guard TJ Dennis and the lone returning starter, center Keith Smith, have contributed
heavily. After their six-game winning streak left them a game short of the playoffs last season, head coach Rick Kirkpatrick
is hoping the rigorous 2005 schedule will send the Wolves into district play battle-tested. "I feel very good about this team,"
said sixth-year coach Kirkpatrick. "They have come together much more quickly than anticipated." An inconsistent early-season
effort seems to be behind the Grey Wolves, who are riding a four-game winning streak into tonight's meeting with Bryan. Shoemaker
has not only beaten three ranked teams thus far, it beat two back-to-back on the same day, defeating No. 13 SA Reagan and
No. 17 SA Warren on its way to third-place in the Pflugerville tournament. If Shoemaker can compensate for a lack of size
in a tall district, it will undoubtedly be in the playoff mix. • Bryan (10-4) All 6 feet, 10 inches of senior center
Brandon Webster, who has signed with Texas A&M, appear much improved from a season ago. The tallest player in the district
is ironically part of a run-and-gun team, hoping to push the tempo on opponents. Speedster Artrell Woods will lead the fastbreak
of an athletic group that has fared very well through 14 games. At 6-foot-4, veteran forward and Louisiana Tech signee Leslie
Jackson may be the most complete player on the Bryan roster. The third playoff team from a season ago may be disappointed
if they have to settle for third this year. "We're going to press, run, play smart as a team and look for mistakes by sophomore's
and juniors to be nullified," said Bryan head coach John Reese. "In this district there are eight teams who can do anything
on a given night. It's going to be some exciting, up-tempo basketball." • Temple (6-8) The defending district champions
have had an up and down season thus far, but will likely be a strong contender in 13-5A yet again. At 6-foot-8, center Russ
Permenter is an imposing presence in the middle of the Wildcats' defense. The junior had 12 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocks
in a loss to Mansfield Timberview two weeks ago. Along with guard Terrell Jackson, the two are a formidable duo on both ends
of the court. Jackson's season-high is 28 points while Permenter dropped 30 on Waco University a week ago. "I feel this team
has grown and is ready for district," said Temple coach Bruce Etheridge. "We've been so inconsistent during the predistrict
and we're ready for the real games to start so we can maximize our intensity." • Waco (4-7) The Lions are a much younger
team than the defending co-district champs of a season ago that finished 24-6. Waco plans to use that youthful exuberance
to play pressure defense on a regular basis. The Lions have already demonstrated they can effectively press full court. "Our
game is quickness, hustle, defensive pressure and good ball movement," said head coach Newton Grimes. The talent level at
Waco may not be the same as last season, but the Lions are seemingly plenty athletic. It just seems to be a matter of the
inexperienced group gaining experience, something a difficult schedule may have accomplished just in time for district play.
Waco has already played No. 2 DeSoto and No. 13 Pflugerville, in addition to a number of tournaments featuring stellar fields,
a possible explanation for its subpar record. • A&M Consolidated (4-9) Detron Lewis has already proven his athleticism
on the football field, now he's doing it on the hardwood. The Tigers receiver-turned-forward is hoping to lead a resurgence
now that he has joined the basketball team following a four-game football playoff run. He has got some work ahead of him if
he is to transform the Tigers, who finished 10-23 last season, 2-11 in District 13-5A. Forward Sean Jones and guard Trey White
are components of a supporting cast which has had a difficult time in predistrict, but the Tigers could be closing the gap
on the district competition. A&M played No. 4 Brenham tough a week ago, clawing to within five points after trailing by
as much as 17. The Tigers were eventually victimized 71-65, the Cubs' 13th consecutive win, but Consolidated is showing signs
of improvement. • Copperas Cove (3-12) To further complicate a rebuilding effort, the Bulldawgs lost an essential piece
of their foundation prior to this season. Cove's leading scorer during a 5-27 campaign last year, point guard Quinton Kirby,
moved out of the district, leaving the Bulldawgs facing a 34-game district losing streak without a go-to player. Second-year
head coach Jay Parker is also dealing with a lack of size, among other things, in attempting to rebuild the team. Parker has
indicated the rebuilding effort will, in all likelihood, have the Dawgs in for another tough year in a tough district. •
Belton (1-12) The Tigers have struggled in recent years and this season appears no different. Coming off a 9-22 effort in
2004, Belton made a coaching change. However, Robert White, the third coach in three years, has had just 13 games to mold
his team. Six-foot-2 post Bryce Anderson is clearly the Tigers largest threat. The senior leads the team in scoring through
13 games. Undersized forward Clint Brown and shooting guard Tom Thorton will contribute heavily to the Belton attack. Justen
Aguillon, the starting point guard, will lead the Tigers into a difficult district, beginning with Waco tonight. High School
Basketball: Knights top Round Rock in final nondistrict game
By Mark W. Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER
HEIGHTS Tyler McGuire didn't score a single point Saturday for the Knights, but in the eyes of Harker Heights coach Celneque
Bobbitt, he may have been the MVP of their 60-49 win over Round Rock.
McGuire, a backup forward, filled in ably for
resting starting point guard Walter Harris, whom Bobbitt said passed out last Sunday, a day after the Knights' runner-up finish
in the Pflugerville Holiday Classic.
"I thought Tyler McGuire came in and saved the day for us," Bobbitt said. "Walt's
under a doctor's care so we're sitting him out till the doctor comes back. He's been checked on. They say everything's all
right but we've got to wait for his doctor to come back."
Bobbitt said dehydration was the likely cause of Harris'
troubles, but a full battery of tests was done to make sure.
Matt Addison scored 29 points for the 12-4 Knights, who
open District 13-5A play Tuesday in Copperas Cove. Chris Ellis added 10 points. Dustan Allen and Justin Reefer scored nine
apiece.
The Knights never trailed after outscoring the Dragons 13-6 in the first quarter.
Round Rock (5-8) pulled
to within one early in the second on a 3-pointer by James Kirkendoll. They had three chances to take the lead, but turned
the ball over each time.
The last, a steal by Allen, led to an Addison layup that started a 10-0 Knights run.
Addison
had seven points, including a three-point play, and an assist in the run that put Heights up 25-14. The Dragons never got
closer than seven the rest of the way.
Frustrated by numerous traveling, 3-second and palming calls, Round Rock coach
Curtis Knight spent most of the game heckling the officials and pleading his case with anyone within earshot Bobbitt, the
scorers' table, spectators and even a courtside photographer.
"We won't be back," he said. "When was the last team
you've seen a guy get called for carrying the ball? I've been around this game a long time, a very long time. Guys all over
America dribble like that."
The Dragons entered the game fresh off a second-place finish second in the Hays Rebel Classic
last weekend.
"We're going to be fine," said Knight, who was hit with a technical with 3:53 remaining. "I'm not worried
about our team. It's just unfortunate that we got to be exposed to this.
"I played at UCLA in 1980 for Larry Brown
and Larry couldn't have stayed in this game."
That's life on the road, according to Bobbitt, who has had some unpleasant
trips of his own.
"The chicken comes home to roost. That's just how it goes. You've got to adjust to the referees.
"That's
the most carries and travels I've ever seen called in my life in a 4A or 5A game, but they consistenly called it all game."
The
impressive Kirkendoll finished with four 3-pointers and scored 24 points, but cooled off down the stretch, and the Knights
made him work hard for his points.
"I thought Justin Reefer did an awesome job," Bobbitt said. "It's good to have some
athletic guys that can defend."
Heights boys to face one more tune-up
By Mark W. Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS
The Harker Heights boys basketball team has one more tuneup left before delving into district play Tuesday at Copperas Cove.
The
Knights host Round Rock on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Heights finished second in a strong Pflugerville Holiday Classic field
last weekend, losing to No. 18 Pflugerville, the host team, 71-61 in the final. The Knights defeated No. 15 San Antonio Reagan
68-61 in the semifinals.
Matt Addison and Walter
Harris were named to the all-tourney team.
The only hiccup for the Knights was an ill-advised shot late in a
64-63 loss to Round Rock Stony Point on Friday that allowed the Tigers an extra possession and a chance to take the lead,
which they did.
"Besides the dang crazy shot we took in the Stony Point game, I thought we did real well," coach Celneque
Bobbitt said.
"I'd like to see more solid play and a little bit less Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde than we've been seeing
some of the time, but I feel pretty good. It's our second year in 5A and hopefully we can do like the football team and step
up and make it to the playoffs."
More practice will help the Knights, Bobbitt added.
"It's kind of hard to get
practices in (in December) because you've got so many games scheduled so close together."
Bobbitt still hasn't settled
on a definite rotation.
"It's still a work in progress right now because kids are getting better and kids are stepping
up. Chris Ellis has played real well for us of late. Matt's still doing what he does. Walt's
doing what he does. We're looking for Dustan (Davis) to step up a little bit more and garner a lot more of the offensive responsibility.
He does great on defense.
"Right now we know we got two hot guns; we're trying to get a couple more people going."
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Matt Addison, boys basketball, senior guard Addison scored a school-record 40 points
in the victory over San Antonio Reagan on Saturday, eclipsing the old mark of 36 held by Valentino Maxwell.
TRB ARTICLE: Matthew Addison
Matt Addison of Harker Heights is a 5-8 G who is a scrappy competitor. TRB sat down with Matt this
weekend and talked with him about his game and basketball in general.
Matt then went off for 42 and 28 points for Heights
in the 2 games on Saturday. Against Reagan, he was on fire, and was hitting from everywhere. Jimmy Littleton was so mad at
his defense that he was constantly calling time and throwing pens and clipboards.
Addison is the #1 offensive weapon for
Heights and really the only consistent scorer on the team. Thus, for them to be successsful, he has to put up a lot of points.
The problem is that Matt is too small to play a 2 at the next level, and therefore needs to be learning to play the 1 and
improving his ballhandling and passing skills. He looks to be improving his handling skills though as he took better care
of the ball in the Reagan game than he has in the past.
Addison may have to go the prep school or juco route but could
help someone in the right situation. First, he is a creative scorer and will find ways to score the ball. He also is a fierce
competitor and will dive on the floor in a heartbeat. It looks like Matt is improving his skills and working hard to overcome
his deficiencies. Look for him to be moving up some slots at least to top 75 in the next revised rankings.
High School Basketball Roundup: Heights, Shoemaker finish second, third at Pflugerville tourney
From staff reports
PFLUGERVILLE Pflugerville 71, Harker Heights 61 At Pflugerville,
Despite 28 points from Matt Addison the Knights fell in the finals of the Pflugerville
tournament.
The host Panthers jumped out front early, leaving Heights to play catch-up for three quarters. The
Knights scored 21 in the final quarter, outscoring Pflugerville by six in the period, but it wasn't enough. the Panthers'
Beasley scored a game-high 30 points.
Harker Heights 68, S.A. Reagan 61 At Pflugerville, Addison hit five 3-pointers
in route to 40 points in the Knights semifinal win in the Pflugerville tournament.
Walt Harris added 10 for
Heights, Ronald Moore 9. Up two at the half, the Knights surged to a 10-point lead in the third quarter, doubling the Rattlers
output in the period.
Corey Griffin scored 22 and Phillip Wilson 18 in the losing effort for S.A. Reagan.
Musings from this week by TRB
This topic will be found in premium after this week's writeup.
Ben Uzoh is clearly on the move
in the rankings. Uzoh has certainly played himself into the elite state rankings and entry into the national top 100.
Pflugerville
has depth and plenty of it. Tremont Calvert has added a lot more athleticism to an already deep team. Ahdar Mayen is about
ready to explode for the Panthers. Very young so he were to prep, this kid could be very good.
As
Matt Addison goes, so goes Heights. He is the key as Coach Jimmy Littleton found out. Read more tonight about Addison.
Killeen
High is going to be very good in the near future. 3-4 guys that are 2009 and 6-5 or taller. One looks like he will grow to
6-10 or more. Stay tuned.
Shoemaker is surprising and playing well after a sluggish start in the tourney. Watch them
in district. They look like a definite battler for the 3rd playoff position.
Second-half surge: After half, Knight take over and down Roos
By Tony Altobelli
Killeen Daily Herald
PFLUGERVILLE Two local teams took drastic
steps in different directions on Friday night at the Pflugerville Panther Holiday Classic.
Trailing 29-28 at the half,
Harker Heights came out and took every facet of the game to Killeen en route to a 62-44 win, leaving both coaches scratching
their heads afterward.
"Man, I'd love to see that more often," HHHS coach Celneque Bobbitt said of his team's impressive
play in the second half. "I used some reverse psychology in the locker room. Instead of yelling and screaming, I talked soft
and explained what we needed to do to win this game.
"It worked."
To say the least. Heights (10-3)opened the
third with a 14-1 run and never looked back.
Killeen (6-5), after outscoring Heights 22-10 in the second quarter, hit
just 4 of 23 shots in the second half, while committing 11 turnovers along the way.
"We physically got whipped in the
second half, no other way to say it," KHS coach Jason Fossett said. "We only played one solid quarter and you can't beat anyone
with that type of effort.
"Heights wanted to get after it physically and we didn't."
Walter Harris scored 19
points to lead Heights, while Chris Ellis added 14 and Matt Addison 10.
Avery Smith led Killeen with 11 points, while
Benjamin Pitts added nine as the Roos hit just 15 of 51 field goals.
Round Rock Stony Point 64, Harker Heights 63
At Pflugerville, the Knights were their own worst enemy late in the fourth quarter in their first
game of the Pflugerville Panther Holiday Classic.
After a pair of Walter Harris free throws put the Knights up 63-62
with 49 seconds left, Stony Point went down and missed two free throws of its own, giving Heights the ball with 30 seconds
remaining.
But an unnecessary shot was put up and missed by Harker Heights, giving Stony Point the ball with 15.5 seconds
to go.
Miles Randolph drove to the hoop and was fouled with 6.9 seconds left in the game. He calmly stepped up and
hit both shots to give Stony Point a one-point lead.
Matt Addison hurried
down the court for one more chance, but tough defense forced a costly turnover with less than a second left, giving Stony
Point the win.
Demetrius Proby led SP with 22 points, 18 in the first half, while Kelechi Emelogu added 13.
For
the Knights, Harris led all scorers with 24 points, while Addison chipped in 16.
High School Basketball Roundup: Addison leads Heights past University
From staff reports
WACO Matthew Addison had 23 points and three
3-pointers to lead the Harker Heights boys basketball team to a 68-54 win at Waco University on Tuesday.
Chris
Ellis and Dustin Allen added 12 points for Heights (9-2), which will next see action in the Pflugerville tournament on Thursday.
Preston Duron led University with 17.
GEORGETOWN
The Harker Heights Knights (8-2) split their action in the Gold Division on Saturday to finish third overall in the 24-team
Jack Frost Tournament.
The Knights dropped a 61-40 decision to Austin Bowie in the semifinals, but then came back to
top Dallas Sammuel 57-42 in the third-place game.
"Taking third in this tournament, I'm very pleased with that," HHHS
coach Celneque Bobbitt said. "After the tough loss to Bowie, our kids came back and responded well. We're pretty tired after
playing five games in three days."
In the loss to Bowie, Matt Addison led the way with 10 points.
The senior was also the top scorer in the Sammuel win with 22.
The Knights will travel to Waco University to
take on the Trojans on Tuesday night, beginning at 7.
High
School Basketball Roundup: Heights boys rally to top Flower Mound
From
staff reports
GEORGETOWN- The Harker Heights boys basketball team used a fourth-quarter offensive barrage to overcome
a 10-point deficit on Friday to top Flower Mound 53-45 at the Jack Frost Tournament, held at Georgetown High School.
Held
to just 26 points in the first three quarters, the 17th ranked Knights (7-1) came to life in the fourth, outscoring Flower
Mound 27-9, sparked by the hot shooting of Matt Addison and Walter Harris.
Addison
scored 13 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth, while Harris chipped in 11 of his 15 in the final eight minutes.
The
Knights will continue Jack Frost Tournament action when they take on Austin Bowie today at noon.
High School Basketball: Knights hand Roos first loss of year
By Mark W. Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS — The highly
anticipated Killeen-Harker Heights boys basketball matchup was as good as expected. In
the end, the Knights' 71-59 victory came down to a small edge.
Literally.
Five-foot-7 guard Matt Addison took
over in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 of his game-high 32 points to thwart a Killeen comeback.
Chris
Ellis added 17 points for 17th-ranked Heights (4-1). Walter Harris had 11. Only two other Knights scored.
Rashad Aubrey
led Killeen with 14, 10 in the fourth quarter, when he was 8-for-8 at the foul line. Chris Saunders (13) and Jordan Brown
(11) also reached double figures for Killeen.
The Roos (3-1) had cut a 13-point
deficit to seven on a 3-pointer by Avery Smith when Addison got busy, scoring Heights' next 10 points.
First, he saved
an errant pass near the baseline, then lofted a floater over a Killeen defender. Next was a 3-pointer from the right wing.
Aubrey
answered for the Roos with another pair of free throws, but Addison quickly drove down the lane for another basket.
Saunders'
third 3 made it 59-50, but Addison capped his run with another trey from the top of the key.
"Goodness gracious, he
caught on fire," said Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt, a 1990 KHS graduate. "In that fourth quarter, he really did a great
job for us."
Addison's transfer from Ellison has been a big topic of conversation among basketball fans. And Bobbitt's
heard plenty of it.
"A lot of people are naysayers and have got lot of negative things to say about the kid since he
transferred over here from Ellison, but my kids are always under control and everybody over here is fine. He's a great kid.
Don't judge the book by its cover.
"I don't know what happened over there, but ever since he's transferred over here,
he's been an honor student, on and off the court."
The first half Tuesday was a stalemate, with the
teams playing to a 30-all tie. Neither team led by more than five. There were eight ties and five lead changes.
The
Knights took control of the game early in the second half shortly after Justin Reefer picked up back-to-back fouls and lost
his cool. Ellis stepped in to prevent him from picking up a technical and Bobbitt called a timeout, with his team up 33-30,
to let the Knights regroup.
They did, as Addison scored the first seven points
of a 10-0 run. Harris capped the run with a 3-pointer that gave the Knights their largest lead, 53-40.
The
Roos stayed in the game despite hitting just 21 of 70 shots (30 percent). The Knights were 24-for-45 (53 percent).
"We
both got better tonight," Bobbitt said. "I think (the Roos) are going to be awesome."
High School Basketball Roundup: Knights rout Connally, 71-54
By Mark W. Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS — When the
Knights basketball team is running on all cylinders, it's a sight to behold.
It's a sight that coach Celneque Bobbitt
would like to see more often.
Matt Addison scored 22 points — one of four Knights in double
figures Saturday — as Harker Heights rolled past 4A's 15th-ranked Pflugerville Connally 71-54.
The Cougars
are taking their lumps early in the season while awaiting the return of several key players still toiling for Connally's playoff
football team.
The Knights never trailed after Addison hit Heights' only 3-pointer midway through
the first quarter for a 9-7 lead.
He keyed a late first-half spurt that stretched an eight-point lead to 17, 38-21,
following a corner jumper by Rylan Chambers. Addison had two steals and two assists in the 11-2 run.
Connally
cut the deficit to eight early in the second half on a basket by Chip Ivany, but Addison quickly scored
at the other end to start a 10-0 Heights run.
The Knights took their biggest lead, 64-39, when Dustan Allen
blocked a shot out on the perimeter, beat everyone to the loose ball and then jammed it home early in the fourth quarter.
Allen
scored 10 of his 11 points in the second half.
Walter Harris (17 points, 7-of-7 at the foul line) and Chris Ellis (14)
also scored in double figures.
Connally's Nick Tolbert was the only Cougar in double figures with 16.
The Knights
did well putting the ball up, shooting 26-of-57 (46 percent) from the field, but not so well putting the ball down, committing
26 turnovers. Connally had 24.
"We're looking for more consistency," Bobbitt said. "Spurts are great, but we need —
I would take a 30-minute spurt out of a 32-minute game. I'll give us two minutes just to have a brain (cramp)."
Heights
did a solid job defensively. The Cougars shot just 33 percent.
Next for the Knights is a home game Tuesday against
Bobbitt's alma mater, Killeen.
"I've already been getting phone calls. The folks from Killeen are calling me a traitor,"
he joked.
Pflugerville boys 62, Harker Heights 54 — At Pflugerville, Texas A&M signee Bryan Beasley
scored 19 points to lead the eighth-ranked Panthers past the Knights.
Heights' Matthew Addison led all scorers with 27 points. He was the only Knight in double figures.
The
game was tied at 31 at halftime, but the Knights managed only two points in the third quarter while the Panthers built a nine-point
lead.
Heights returns to action Saturday against 4A's No. 15 Pflugerville Connally. Game time, originally scheduled
for 3 p.m., has been moved to noon. There will be no junior varsity game.
High School Boys Basketball: No. 16 Knights topple Westlake
By Mark W. Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS — The Knights'
bountiful 18-man boys basketball roster is already proving to be a double-edged sword for coach Celneque Bobbitt.
The
buzzer had hardly finished blaring following 16th-ranked Harker Heights' easy 72-55 home-opening victory against Austin Westlake
when Bobbitt found himself dealing with a disgruntled parent.
It left a sour taste in his mouth.
"After a great
victory, for somebody to come up to me and just ruin it, just ruin everything ..." he fumed.
Until then, it was mostly
a great night for Bobbitt and the Knights, who shot 54 percent (27-of-50) for the game.
After Westlake's Tommy Romano
scored on the Chaparrals' first possession, the Knights (2-0) reeled off eight straight points on the way to a 19-3 first
quarter lead.
Westlake (0-2) never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.
Justin Reefer led Heights with 19
points, 15 in the second half. Dustan Allen had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Ellison
transfer Matt Addison added 13.
"I thought it was an awesome performance," Bobbitt said. "We hadn't
been looking that good in practice.
"I could see a full team effort today."
The Chaps were only able to put
up four shots in the first quarter, missing their last three, and committed nine turnovers.
"We hadn't seen that kind
of quickness in the scrimmages that we've had so far, but that's why we play these games," Westlake coach Ben Faulkner said.
"Coach
Bobbitt does a great job. These (Heights) guys are going to be going far. Those guys are quick, they're smart. They've got
guys that can shoot."
Westlake settled down in the second quarter and was only outscored by one in the final three
quarters, but was unable to make a dent in the Knights' large lead, with reached 24 a couple of times.
Romano was the
only scorer in double figures for Westlake, finishing with 15. Steven Shaffer added nine.
Westlake finished 19-of-46
(41 percent) from the field. Both teams finished with 28 turnovers.
The Knights will test their ranking next week at
No. 9 Pflugerville on Tuesday and at home Saturday against Class 4A No. 19 Pflugerville Connally.
Area hoops roundup: Knights topple
Austin Reagan, 53-38
Harker
Heights opens with win at Austin Reagan AUSTIN — Matthew Addison scored 18 points and Chris Ellis added 10 more to
lead the Harker Heights boys basketball team to a 53-38 win over Austin Reagan in the season-opener for both teams. The
Knights followed a 15-9 first quarter with a 15-8 second, to take a commanding lead they never relenquished. Other
contributors for Heights, which will host Austin Westlake on Friday at 6:30 p.m., were Justin Reefer with four and Justin
Allen with 4. "It was a good team effort," Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt said. "It wasn't bad
for a first game but we've got a long way to go."
Boys High School Basketball Preview: State-ranked Knights enter season loaded with mix of size,
experience
By Mark W. Miller
Killeen Daily Herald
HARKER HEIGHTS — Last season finished
on a sour note for Harker Heights boys basketball coach Celneque Bobbitt, but he didn't have to wait long to start feeling
better about his Knights program.
Bobbitt (84-77 in five seasons at Heights) saw his holdovers develop significantly
in the offseason, welcomed several noteworthy transfers and picked up a preseason ranking in the Texas Association of Basketball
Coaches preseason Class 5A poll.
The Knights roster is now loaded with size, skill, good shooters and experience. In
fact, Bobbitt may have too much of a good thing. It could be a challenge keeping everybody happy and finding the rotation
that maximizes Heights' potential.
"I'm glad that we got new uniforms and we got 20," Bobbitt said. "It looks like
we got a football team out there.
"We've got to get everything together and get everybody working on the same page.
That's the thing. ... but that's a good thing to have. You don't want to jell in November."
The Knights will open the
season tonight at Austin Reagan as the 16th-ranked team in the state, according to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches
poll.
"Preseason accolades are great but you know, in January, if we're sitting in the same situation, I'll be a lot
more excited," Bobbitt said.
There's good reason to expect they will. The Knights will start three players who are
drawing interest from Division I colleges: point guard Walter Harris, shooting guard Matthew Addison and center Dustan Allen.
Harris,
who averaged 10 points per game at shooting guard last season, will slide over to the point, where, at 6-foot-5, he'll be
a matchup nightmare for many teams.
Addison averaged 20 points per game last season for perennial
power Ellison before moving to Harker Heights. "He's just a great flat-out scorer," Bobbitt said.
Allen, 6-8,
averaged seven points last season. He and Addison are ranked 91st and 90th, respectively, in TexasHoops.com's
preseason top 100 seniors.
Also in the starting mix for the Knights will be small forward Justin Reefer, guard
Ronald Moore and 6-5 forward Chris Ellis.
Moore, the top receiver on the Heights football team, moved back to Heights
from Alaska. He played on Bobbitt's freshman team.
The Knights are also loaded on the bench. Rylan Chambers, one of
four Knights 6-7 or taller, starred at Florence last season.
Six-eight sophomore George Nelson was expected to play
on the junior varsity, but his shot-blocking prowess (he has nearly a 7-foot wingspan) has been too good to ignore.
"We're
working on offense and, goodness gracious, if he keeps on working, some of my starting seniors might be in a world of hurt,"
Bobbitt joked.
Point guard Demont Blackmon (5 ppg after getting called up from the JV midway through last season),
Jerel Walker and footballers Jermaine Jamison, Walter Hyde and Quentin Miles will also bolster the bench.
The Knights,
18-13 last season, appeared to be cruising to a playoff berth in their first year in 5A, starting 6-1 in district play, but
they dropped five of their last seven and missed the postseason for the second straight year.
"The ball bearings came
loose and that wheel just started wobbling just enough," said Bobbitt, who said his players lacked the confidence to close
out games in the competitive 13-5A.
With the Knights' talent and 14 seniors, that doesn't figure to be a problem this
time around.
"The sky could be the limit," Bobbitt said, "but we've got to take it one day at a time."
Harker
Heights Described as a "small college lineup" by SHS Coach
Harker
Heights has four players 6-7 or taller.
"Heights has a small college lineup," said Kirkpatrick. "Every team that's
a contender in the district has a big kid in the paint."
Knights fall in
Hall of Fame scrimmage
The
16th-ranked Harker Heights Knights lost to Carrollton Newman Smith by six on Saturday in the Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic
at Midway High School.
Matthew Addison scored 24 points and Walter Harris added 18 in the scrimmage, part of the Texas Basketball
Hall of Fame Induction festivities.
"They
killed us on the boards and that's our focal point out here," coach Celneque Bobbitt said between games in Tuesday night's
four-school scrimmage with Killeen, Austin LBJ and Waco.
The Knights led most of the way Saturday until a six-point third quarter helped drop them
19 behind. Heights clawed back to within four late, but couldn't get any closer.
Texas Roundball
Magazine Excerpt
In our continuing series of high school team previews today we look at Killeen Harker Heights. The Knights might find
a spot among our lower top 30 range teams in Class 5A (in a loaded 5A group.).
Coach Celneque Bobbitt's squad is led by 5-9 senior PG/SG Matthew Addison. The small
combo guard is a big-time scorer and slides between the 1-2 spots, Addison ranks as the #94 senior in Texas.
6-3 senior guard Walter Harris will man share the backcourt with Addison. Long and skilled, Harris has never quite been able
to take his game to the next level.
Inside, 6-7 senior Dustan Allen is
the main man. The long, athletic Allen is the #142 ranked senior in Texas. Joining Allen inside will be 6-6 senior post Ryland
Chambers. Chambers has played previously at Georgetown and Florence. Post Lawrence Taylor should provide depth inside.
The 5th starter at a wing should be either 6-3 senior SF Justin Reser or 5-10 senior guard Ronald Moore. The Knights
will be in action next Saturday (Nov. 5)at the TABC Hall of Fame Classic in Waco against Carrollton Newman Smith.
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