Wolves defense suffocates Braswell's offense in the second half to advance
COPPELL High School - The Mansfield Timberview Wolves (26-8) came back from a seven-point deficit against the Denton Braswell Bengals (26-10) to advance to the Regional Quarter-Finals of the 5A UIL State Playoffs (Region 1). With the score 32-25, the Wolves went on a 14-0 run which started with a bucket by Jared Washington with 1:43 in the third quarter and ended with a Joey Madimba short-range jumper with 1:22 to go in the game.
The 2019 defending state champs, Timberview, struggled to score as they faced multiple zone defenses by the Bengals, but eventually turned things around. The game was tied at 20 heading into halftime and Timberview made adjustments.
"We were trying to get more action going in the middle of the paint, and stop standing around the perimeter and settling for the outside shot," said Timberview's head coach Duane Gregory. "But really, it's about our defense and only holding [Braswell] to 16 second-half points and grabbing rebounds. That's what we do."
The Wolves defense allowed only four fourth-quarter points and held the Bengals scoreless for an eight-minute and 54-second strength in the second half. The Bengals' last points in the third quarter came at the 2:02 mark and the drought ended with 1:06 in the fourth.
Stepping away from his finesse style of play and getting gritty inside the paint was junior, 6-foot-6 Cameron Taylor. Taylor did a great job of pulling in rebounds and blocking/altering shots of the Bengals.
"He was a big anchor for us, especially late in the game. Cam came up big for us in so many ways," added Gregory.
Once again, leading Mansfield Timberview in points was senior Joey Madimba. The 6-foot-4 slashing forward was finally able to cut through the zone and get his short jumpers to fall. Madimba also flew to the basket a couple of times in the second half on breakaways for the Wolves.
"We are a second-half team," Madimba said. "In the locker room, we talked about how teams can start slipping up coming out to the third quarter when they have the lead. We had to get things clicking on defense and then it led to our offense."
What's Next?...
Mansfield Timberview will face district opponent, Mansfield Legacy on either Monday or Tuesday night of next week (TBA). Timberview finished second in District 5-5A while Legacy took third. Timberview won both meetings versus Legacy, winning 59-55 on January 17, and again on February 11, by the score of 53-42.