Texas High couldn't miss early and carried that momentum until the final whistle to help keep control of its destiny for a playoff spot.
CJ Kelley and Caleb Wilson took over in the first half, combining for 24 of Texas High's 46 points en route to a 92-68 win over Greenville on Tuesday night at Tiger Center. The victory helped the Tigers maintain their third-place tie in District 16-5A play.
"We shot really well tonight," Texas High coach Keith Jones said. "After coming out with a great performance against Sulphur Springs last week, we played a really bad game against Mount Pleasant. But tonight we got the job done and played to our potential."
As adept as the offense performed, the defense was just as aggressive, forcing 21 turnovers, which helped open up the transition play throughout the contest.
"We try to do that every game. (Greenville) didn't get back on defense fast enough tonight like most teams, and it made it look like we had more fast-break points than we normally do," Jones said. "We try to get as many fast-break points as we can."
Wilson scored a game-high 23 points for the Tigerswhile teammate Kelley tacked on another 20, including a posterizing dunk in the second quarter, and pulled down seven rebounds. Cole Drumm finished with 10 rebounds
The third quarter played a little slower, with both teams trading shots, but Texas High still managed to come away with 25 points.
Greenville's Quin Anderson was Texas High's thorn early on. The sophomore had 13 points midway through the second quarter before the Tigers switched schemes.
THS put pressure on Anderson and forced the ball to other players.
"We had to take him out of the equation," Jones said. "We knew he was a great shooter, and if he got hot, he could spark his other teammates. That's something we wanted to take care of."
After the switch, Anderson was only allowed to score seven points to finish with a team-high 20.
Texas High's ninth grade and junior varsity teams also posted wins over Greenville.
Gavon Smith scorched the nets for 22 points and teammate Ben DePriest added 19 to help the young Tigers keep their season record unscathed at 19-0 with a 80-55 victory.
The JV team was led by three double-digit scorers, with Montarius Johnson leading the pack with 22 points, Myles Washington scoring 14 and Tae Richardson finishing with 11 as THS came away with the 80-55 win.
Also vying for the district's third spot is Marshall and Hallsville, and the two clashed Tuesday night with Marshall winning, 70-53. Texas High will play Hallsville on the road Tuesday, with a win clinching a postseason berth.
Greenville 13 12 19 24 - 68
Texas High 23 23 25 21 - 92
GHS (68): Anderson 6 6-6 20, Carter 1 1-2 3, Sutton 2 0-0 4, White 1 0-0 3, Dean 0 0-0 0, Smith 3 1-2 7, Wilson 2 1-3 5, Clark 3 0-0 7, Abrogo 3 0-0 6, Davis 5 2-2 13. TEAM TOTALS 26 11-15 15 68.
THS (92): Stanley 4 0-0 8, Thurman 4 0-0 9, Kelley 9 2-5 20, Clark 2 1-2 6, Wright 3 0-0 9, Drumm 1 3-4 5, Vaughn 2 1-2 5, Wilson 10 2-2 23, Mills 3 1-2 7. TEAM TOTALS 35 10-17 92.
3-Point Goals: GHS-Anderson 2, White, Cark, Davis. THS-Thurman, Clark, Wright 3, Wilson.