No. 25 DAINGERFIELD (19-6)
vs. WHITEWRIGHT (22-8)
AT STAKE: Class 3A area championship.
LAST ROUND: Daingerfield eliminated Paris Chisum, 58-35. Whitewright beat Mineola, 56-48
KEY FACTS: Behind center Mason Riggins, now playing for Long Beach State, Whitewright eliminated Daingerfield in the area round last year, 70-55, and went two rounds deeper into the playoffs. Daingerfield this week moved into the coaches' poll at No. 25. Both teams' mascots are Tigers.
DAINGERFIELD'S STARTING LINEUP: Deonta Allen, 5-9 G, Sr.; Keke Chism, 6-4 PG, Sr.; Mikal Reeves 6-2 F, Soph.; Denzel Mims 6-4 G, Sr.; Ricky Lee 6-2 F, Sr.
COACH'S COMMENTS: Daingerfield's Curtis Lewis-"They aren't quite as good as they were last year, when they had that 6-foot-10 center, but they are still a very good team. Last year, you'd get locked in doubling up on the big man, and he'd kick it out to one of the guards. This year, they're different but still very good.
"We just have to do what we do. Play defense, shoot well and control the boards. We didn't have a good shooting night against Chisum, but it was OK because we got rebounds and got those second, third and fourth shots."
UP NEXT: The winner faces the winner of DeKalb vs. Alba Golden in the regional quarterfinals.
No. 2 CLARKSVILLE (29-4)
vs. FRUITVALE (20-9)
AT STAKE: Class 2A bi-district championship.
LAST ROUND: The Blue Tigers routed Ore City, 73-36, and Fruitvale eliminated Sam Rayburn, 82-73.
CLARKSVILLE'S START-ING LINEUP: Rayzon Allen, PG; Damian Richardson, G; Quintin Wallace, F; Keyshon Moore, F; Clashon Gaffney, F.
UP NEXT: The winner advances to the regional quarterfinal round next week against either Big Sandy or Wolfe City.
No. 21 AVERY (26-6)
vs. No. 11 MARTINS MILL (28-7)
AT STAKE: Class 2A area championship.
SITE, TIME: Panther Gym (Princeton, Texas), 6 p.m.
LAST ROUND: Avery defeated Union Grove, 79-54. Martins Mill defeated Bells, 85-58.
AVERY'S STARTING LINEUP: Charles Kelly, Gage Berry, Alan Jackson, Kort Bowles, Morgan Story.
COACH'S COMMENTS: Avery's Jack Bowles-"After winning our opening game against Union Grove it does give us confidence going into the game against Martins Mill. We're playing good basketball right now."
"We have to focus on Davis Moore, who has made 550 3-pointers and we also have to look at 6-foot-1 Logan Jenkins on Martin Mill. Defensively we have to be sound and capitalize on turnovers."
"If we can play our game type of game, take good shots, and rebound the ball we will have a chance to win the game."
UP NEXT: The winner faces either McLeod or Blue Ridge in the regional quarterfinal round later next week.
McLEOD (23-11)
vs. No. 17 BLUE RIDGE (24-8)
AT STAKE: Class 2A area championship.
SITE, TIME: Eagle Gym (Lindale, Texas) 7 p.m.
LAST ROUND: McLeod defeated Detroit 51-39, and Blue Ridge defeated Boles 73-47.
McLEOD'S STARTING LINEUP: Josh Gilmore, Colby Smith, Trevor Griffin, Bradley Lambeth, JR Smith.
COACH'S COMMENTS: McLeod's Steven Lambeth-"After the second half against Detroit, we came out and starting playing basketball. We have to come out strong against Blue Ridge, because if we come out flat, the game could get out of hand early.
"They have a group of seniors that have a lot of playoff experience. They have a lot of size on the court, which will be a challenge.
"Our last 10 games we have been playing well, and we need to play with that same mentality when we hit the court against Blue Ridge."
UP NEXT: The winner face either Martins Mill or Avery in the regional quarterfinal round later next week.