Jazmon Reynolds' 18 points led four scorers in double figures, and the Eisenhower boys basketball team continued its dominant run atop District 19-5A with a 91-60 rout of MacArthur Friday night at the Aldine Campbell Center. Christopher McDuffie added 17 points, Darius Goff 16 and Ella Ellis 10 for the Eagles, who improved to 25-3 overall and 9-0 in the district. Eisenhower led only 23-17 after one quarter, but widened its lead to 46-32 at halftime. Desabran Cooper had 15 points and Derek Williams added 13 for MacArthur (3-18, 2-7).   Nimitz 55, Aldine 51 Nimitz (12-7, 6-2) used a 24-12 fourth-quarter advantage to defeat Aldine at the Campbell Center. Willie Holmes scored 19 points and Marion Grice 18 for Nimitz. Brandon Williams had 19 points for Aldine (15-8, 5-4).

        Just in case their lofty area and state rankings weren’t proof enough, the Bellaire girls basketball team reminded everyone Friday night that this is their year to win District 20-5A – and maybe more. The Cardinals thrashed two-time defending district champions Westside 87-38 at Butler Fieldhouse, and about the only people who weren’t shocked by that score were the Cardinals themselves. Whether it’s because of their focus after a midseason upset loss or new shooting drills in practice, Bellaire (32-1, 12-1) didn’t pause to admire the scoreboard or let up in any fashion until the finish. “We were anxious to get going, get some running and gunning and show how we can really play,” Cardinals guard Jasmine Hartman said.

          The Cy-Fair girls basketball team have already clinched a playoff spot with their undefeated district record.

  Langham Creek’s girls basketball team (21-8, 8-2) is tied for second with Cypress Falls in District 17-5A with only four more games left until the playoffs.

  Ask just about any college player about the transition from high school to college sports and you will most likely hear various descriptions of the higher level of play at the collegiate level.   There certainly is a transition, but what matters most is how well you make that transition.

          With the student section packed full of loyal fans from both Langham Creek and Cypress Springs, the stage was set for an intense 17-5A match up between the two backyard rivals.

              Ike Nlemchi's big third quarter helped the Spring Woods boys basketball team defeat visiting MacArthur, 58-54, in a District 19-5A game Tuesday night. Nlemchi had 14 points for Spring Woods, which got 12 points from Eddie Green and 11 from Jimmy Heckard and outscored MacArthur 21-15 in the pivotal third quarter. The game remained close during the first half with Lester Collier of MacArthur displaying his endurance on both offensive and defensive sides, scoring most of his 14 points at that time. MacArthur led 24-23 at halftime, but Nlemchi hit multiple 3-pointers in the third and stepped up his defense to help Spring Woods to a 44-39 lead after the period. Heckard was outstanding, making several steals and scoring a handful of coast-to-coast baskets. Another leading player of the night was Willie Patterson of MacArthur, who added 10 points. Desabrian Cooper added 11 for MacArthur, which couldn't catch up in the fourth quarter.

{mp3}080122-GBB-CyFalls{/mp3}     The Cypress Falls girls basketball team clinched a playoff spot Tuesday night with a 60-42 win over Jersey Village in a District 17-5A game.   “Now, we want to get that playoff mentality, so every game is just another test,” Cy Falls coach Jim Stephens said. It was Senior Night for the Lady Eagles, who put on a good showing.   Senior Starr Spencer came out firing at hit the first basket of the night.

              It’s not that the Elsik girls basketball team has sympathy for any opponent. But the Rams could have been forgiven Tuesday night if they looked at backyard rival Hastings’ bench and salivated over outmanning them 15-7. Yes, seven. Hastings has hung in the District 18-5A race all season with that almost-unheard of amount of players, and Tuesday the Bears outraced Elsik to a six-point first-quarter lead.

{mp3}080121-BBB-Stratford{/mp3}   Thanks to their best district start in several years, the Stratford boys basketball team is in strong contention for the District 19-5A championship more than halfway through the season. The Spartan men have put themselves in a pretty good position in achieving their goal of winning the district championship.

      Westside VS.

          After battling through a tough District 18-5A schedule, the Katy boys basketball team pulled out its first district win with a 52-47 victory over Mayde Creek Friday night.   But even though the Tigers won the game on the court, coach Patrick Okruhlik wants to make sure his team wins the most important conflict of all.   “We’re a team that’s been struggling a bit and battling ourselves,” Okruhlik said.

             Morton Ranch trailed Alief Taylor through the fourth quarter until Laura Anderson stole Taylor’s inbound ball and scored the winning basket, 54-53, with just seconds left.

          When you put St.

      Cinco Ranch and Katy Taylor began the second round of District 18-5A play Tuesday night, and the Cougars remained undefeated with a 57-36 road win. “It’s always a rivalry between us and Katy Taylor,” Cinco Ranch coach Eric Bartlett said.

          A no-look pass from Strake Jesuit’s Joey Brooks to James Wiseman late in the first quarter Tuesday night caught the Cy-Fair boys basketball team napping. The Crusaders made sure the Bobcats didn’t get chances to wake up. Strake Jesuit trailed by four points early, but outscored visiting Cy-Fair by 42 points after that to cruise to a 75-37 victory in District 17-5A. Cy-Fair (10-9, 4-4) thrived on 3-pointers at the onset but inexplicably seemed to fall asleep with less than a minute left in the first, when Brooks, a junior who already has verbally committed to Notre Dame, sent a pass to Wiseman behind a screen for an easy layup. That started an 8-0 run featuring several baskets off transition, an overriding theme for the Crusaders (16-3, 7-1) both Tuesday night and the entire season. “That pass gave us the momentum a little bit, and then what we tried to do was pick up our defensive momentum and just try to be more aggressive,” said Brooks, who scored a game-high 17 points.

  {mp3}080114-GBB-Hastings{/mp3}     Hastings hosted Morton Ranch in the second half of District 18-5A girls basketball Monday night and improved their record to 21-5 overall, 5-3 in district with a 45-25 victory.

          The Elsik boys basketball team earned few if any style points from their 66-54 victory against Katy Monday night, but winning pretty is the farthest thing from coach Tim Martin’s mind. Of the Rams’ eight scorers, none were seniors.

{mp3}080111-BBB-KleinCollins{/mp3}               In a non-district boys basketball game Friday night, Klein Collins hosted St.

  {mp3}Katy-Cinco recap 20080111{/mp3}     It only seemed like Cinco Ranch’s stingy man-to-man defense executed its plans to perfection Friday night, forcing Katy into turnover after turnover, then scoring off those in a prosperous second quarter. The Cougars forced nearly a dozen turnovers and outscored Katy 19-5 in the period, but Cinco Ranch coach Eric Bartlett was in confession mode after a 59-41 win in District 18-5A. “I’m not a very good man-to-man coach,” Bartlett said.

          Three Katy Taylor players scored in double figures Friday night against Morton Ranch.

          As the first round of district is nearing the end, teams are looking for every district win.

 {mp3}DS_20103{/mp3}   The Memorial Mustangs hosted the MacArthur Generals in a District 19-5A girls basketball game Tuesday night.

  The Stratford boys basketball team gained its composure when Aldine lost theirs Tuesday night.

    When the Alief Hastings basketball team prepared for their match up with District 18-5A opponent Katy Taylor, they knew their hands would be full facing off against Mustang shooters like Corbin Ray and Blake Matocha. “They (Taylor) have Corbin (Ray) who is a heck of a player and he got us pretty good in the first half,” Hastings coach Darrell Foster said.

  The Cy Creek Cougars and the Jersey Village Falcons both hosted a game Saturday afternoon.

       Second Baptist VS.

  {mp3}080104-BBBNimitzGilmer{/mp3}     Nimitz and MacArthur faced each other Friday night on the court as Nimitz’s men’s and women’s teams both won their games.

      Friday night’s action featured a Spring Branch ISD classic as the Stratford basketball team hosted Memorial.

{mp3}080102-BBBNimitzGilmer{/mp3}     Nimitz’s intensity led to a 63-55 win over Memorial Wednesday night.  “It was a good win,” said Nimitz coach Randy Gilmer.

      Cy-Fair v.

 {mp3}080102-JonesBBB-final{/mp3}   After participating in the Whataburger basketball tournament in Forth Worth this past weekend, Strake Jesuit coach Wayne Jones noticed something different in his team.

     Fridays Action    Saturdays Action     After the results were posted from the Houston vs.

  {mosimage} Not much could have lightened Hastings basketball coach Darrell Collins’ mood Saturday afternoon – except talking about Chris Iles. Even in light of losing the Texas Championship game of the Houston vs.

          Like the majority of Houston vs.

  When a new school comes into existence, building tradition is one of the primary things any program looks forward to. And with Katy ISD’s newest school, Seven Lakes, that is exactly the case. The boys basketball team is making major strides.

    Final Results:  The Second Baptist girls kept the tournament title at home with a 46-33 win over IWA.

    It’s not as if the Cypress Springs boys basketball team needs much positive reinforcement regarding their stellar start. Winning the Houston ISD Jaycees tournament last weekend, including defeating Yates in the championship, reminded the Panthers how well they can compete with any style.

    Hastings’ boys basketball team anticipated having problems with Bellaire’s height and length Friday during the Houston vs.

      The Hastings boys basketball team completed its tasks with such ease Thursday night that it was easy to forget the Bears are learning an entirely new system. Hastings has rolled to a 15-4 start, the latest win being a 76-62 victory against Aldine on the first night of the Houston vs.

The Cypress Falls Eagles hosted the Katy Tigers Thursday afternoon.

  From Thursday to Saturday, Vision Sports will host the ‘Houston vs. The Nation’ boys basketball tournament at the Aldine ISD M.O. Campbell Center.

        Houston Christian defeated Kinkaid, 46-39, Friday night.  “I knew it was going to be a tough game for us and it was a fun game to watch and a fun game to coach, for sure,” said Houston Christian coach Larry Wilkins.

              Cy Springs defeated Yates in the Championship game with a 75-73 win and Chavez squeezed passed Nimitz for third place, 71-67.   The All-Tournament team is: Phillip McDonald  (Cy Springs),  Erik Williams (Cy Springs),  Daquan Williams (Cy Springs),  Xavier Roberson (Yates),  Brandon Peters (Yates),  EJ Kirby (Yates),  Jamal Fenton (Chavez),  Gary Cox (Nimitz),  Michael Brown (Westfield),  Josh Bonney (Lamar), and  Travis Lampley (Reagan)   Houston ISD is hosting the 68th Annual Houston Jaycees/Reebok Basketball Tournament this Thursday through Saturday.

        Galveston Ball used some intense defensive pressure Tuesday night to power its way past Deer Park 75-55 in a non-district game. With Ball’s 12-3 record, and Deer Park’s outstanding 10-3 record, many believed this would be the type of game you would not want to miss. However, the only thing missing was Deer Park's answer for the defensive pressure Ball threw at them.

{mp3}DS_20095GBBCyCreek{/mp3}    The Cypress Creek Cougars took on the Cypress Ridge Rams in their second District 17-5A girls basketball game Monday night.

{mp3}071217-BBBMC-OJHeil1{/mp3}     Mayde Creek's boys basketball team came from behind in the second quarter to win its first District  18-5A game, 74-60 against Katy Taylor Monday night.

  {mp3}Cy Springs BBKB VO 20071218{/mp3}     Cypress Springs boys basketball coach John Harmatuk didn't need a chalkboard to dissect Monday night's 61-57 victory at Langham Creek. He felt the biggest edge the Panthers had in a game that started as a track meet and turned into a gutcheck was their experience, specifically having 13 seniors against a Langham Creek with eight seniors of its own but a boatload of underclassmen. But the defense did its part, blocking a handful of shots and holding Langham to one field goal in the final 3 minutes, 3 seconds to pull away in a sometimes-tense District 17-5A game. "I have veterans - smart, tough players," Harmatuk said.

{mp3}071217-ATaylor BBB-Vital{/mp3}   District 18-5A tipped off with opening night for the boys basketball games.

 {mp3}DS_20091{/mp3} The Nimitz Cougars hosted the Memorial Mustangs Friday night.