Paradise guard Cash Gibson finishes an open layup in the Panthers’ 44-29 win against Hooks Monday in the 3A Division II Region II Semifinal. MIKE HALL | FOR THE MESSENGER
Defense travels, and for Paradise, it traveled extremely well to Bonham High School Monday.
After knotting up at 10 with the Hooks Hornets at the end of the first quarter, Paradise’s defense turned merciless. The Panthers didn’t allow Hooks to tally a double-digit scoring output the last three quarters of the 3A Division II Region II Semifinal and turned the staunch effort into a 44-29 win.
“Our defense is our trademark. It’s something we count on and hang our hats on,” Paradise coach Bo Rickner said. “Tonight wasn’t the prettiest game offensively, and credit to Hooks for playing great defensively as well, but that’s two games in a row we’ve held an opponent under 30. That’s pretty remarkable and something for these guys to be proud of.”
Will McGregor kept Hooks honest with his deep ball early. Paradise trailed 10-7 down the stretch of the first quarter, but McGregor hit a dagger from the corner off of a Cooper Jones assist to draw even with Hooks headed into the second quarter.
The scoring flurry bled over into the second frame for the Panthers, where McGregor cashed in on two more 3-pointers.
“I had one that just bounced around the rim and then finally fell in,” McGregor said. “I was hyped after that.”
Paradise bolted on a 15-4 run in the second quarter not only behind McGregor’s outside scoring, but also on Cash Gibson’s uninhibited drives to the paint. Gibson laid in two shots while fighting body contact among the trees on Paradise’s offensive burst.
“We slowly started amping things up right before halftime. [Hooks] came out stronger than we thought, and I think it just took us some time to get settled,” Gibson said. “We started moving the ball better and seeing the open man and making our shots.”
“I think when the other guys started talking trash I started to get going a little. It fired me up,” Gibson added.
The Panthers’ offense tapered off early in the second half, and Hooks seized the moment by cutting Paradise’s lead 8 (27-19).
But just as soon as Hooks started to find a weakness in Paradise’s game, the momentum was stopped cold by a technical foul assessed on Hooks’ big man Trent Hanes.
Paradise used the call on the floor to light a 7-4 run to close out the third quarter, where Jones found Creek Gibson cutting to an open layup at the end of the period.
“These guys are bought into putting the team first, and you see it with numerous examples tonight like we have all season,” Rickner said. “It’s been our team motto all year long. Together, one is greater than five. When we play as one, it’s better than five individuals.”
Max Jordan, McGregor, Jones and Cash and Creek Gibson all pitched in during the fourth quarter to outscore Hooks 10-6 and ride out the clock to victory.
While McGregor led Paradise in offense with 13 points, his major task at hand was matching up with Hooks’ Hanes.
Hanes was held 7 points on the night.
“Will is underrated on the defensive end. He doesn’t look like your typical great defensive post player at 6-3 – and that’s being generous – but he understands how to play with leverage and has great strength,” Rickner said. “He does a great job of making bigger guys catch the ball in sort of unfavorable spots and not letting them get to a spot they want.”
Jones recorded 11 points, with most of his damage done from the free throw line at a 9-for-12 clip. Cash Gibson added 10 points.
“Credit to our guys for their willingness to buy into our gameplan fully, and their ability to do what’s asked of them possession after possession. It’s not an easy thing to do – to be locked in so well defensively and still be able to run our offense,” Rickner said. “And shoutout to our assistant coaches – [Chad] Woodard, [Barry] Mathis and [Adam] Terry – for getting us prepared with watching film, our scouting reports and getting the scout team ready. All of those factor into nights like this.”
Paradise will play the winner of Leonard/Edgewood in the 3A Division II Region II Final. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Tigers is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Rockwall Heath High School.
“Edgewood has some good size. They’re pretty big. And Leonard likes to get out and shoot the ball,” Rickner said. “We have to be ready whoever it is, because at this point in time everybody’s good and everybody is this far for a reason.”
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