By Travis M. Smith | KBEC Sports
An 18-point second quarter proved the difference for the Waxahachie Runnin’ Indians in an upset win against DeSoto.
Waxahachie (9-18, 3-6) rallied to enter the halftime locker room knotted at 25. The Runnin’ Indians then found the bottom of the net just enough behind underclassmen leadership for the 47-44 District 11-6A victory at home against (21-7, 6-3) DeSoto.
The win keeps Waxahachie in the playoff hunt, thanks primarily to the UIL postseason suspension of 6A No. 1 (23-1, 9-0) Duncanville.
King Grace (soph) and Isayah Pankey (junior) led the way for the Runnin’ Indians with 13 points on better than 42% FG shooting. Sophomore big-man Parker Jefferson added 7 points and 5 boards in his return to game action following an offseason injury. Justin Bohannon (senior) led the team with 10 boards and added seven crucial points.
Waxahachie is now tied with (17-8, 3-6) Mansfield Lake Ridge for the final 11-6A playoff spot.
DeSoto and (19-7, 6-3) Mansfield Legacy lead the playoff push, while Cedar Hill is currently positioned “third” at 5-4 in 11-6A and 19-11 on the season.
The UIL originally stripped Duncanville of all 2021-22 victories, including the Panthers’ 6A state title, after finding the program had participated with an ineligible player. That decision came in early October. Duncanville ISD superintendent Marc Smith, district personnel and the basketball program then elected to self-withdrawal from the 2022-23 postseason. That decision in November is largely believed to be a preemptive self-sanction to avoid future UIL penalties and avoid further sanctions.
The Duncanville boys’ basketball program is currently on a three-year UIL probation, while the Panther girls were banned from the 2022-23 postseason before the opening tipoff.
UP NEXT
Excluding the upcoming and rescheduled game against Duncanville, Waxahachie will very likely need to win 3 of its other 4 district games in order to clinch a postseason berth.
Those games begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday on the road against Mansfield Legacy.
The Runnin’ Indians will then face Mansfield (Feb. 7, home), Mansfield Lake Ridge (Feb. 10, away) and Dallas Skyline (Feb. 14, home). Due to weather and unsafe travel, the Waxahachie home game against Duncanville, originally slated for this past Tuesday, is still TBD.
As always, all home games can be heard live on KBEC 1390AM/99.1FM, streamed online at elliscosports.com or by asking your Alexa to “tune into KBEC radio.”
PHOTO GALLERY
All photos by Fred Phipps/KBEC during non-district games against Keller and Ennis in Nov. 2022.
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Travis M. Smith, @Travis5mith
tsmith@kbec.com