Eze Nwakamma leads Mansfield Lake Ridge past Alvin Shadow Creek in battle of state-ranked squad.

ALLEN ― Mansfield Lake Ridge center Eze Nwakamma was aware that he was going up against a University of Houston signee in Alvin Shadow Creek’s Bryce Jackson on Friday. Because of this Nwakamma wanted to make an impression. He made his impression, and a lot more.

Nwakamma scored 31 points while adding seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals as Lake Ridge edged Shadow Creek 70-67 in a matchup of state-ranked teams and a quarterfinal of gold division bracket at Eagle Gym. Nwakamma scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a driving basket to give Lake Ridge a 65-60 lead with 1:41 remanining.

Nwakamma was 11 for 16 from the field. Jackson finished with 15 points on 3 for 7 shooting from the field with five rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

“It was definitely personal. I’m looking to get opportunities and this was a chance to show what I could do,” said Nwakamma, who has received interest from college programs such as Long Island, Tarleton State and Dallas Baptist. “I feel like I made my statement.”

Lake Ridge (19-1), ranked No. 8 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 6A state poll, picked up its eighth straight win and advanced to a semifinal late Friday against San Antonio Wagner (16-4), the No. 7-ranked team in the TABC Class 5A state poll. Shadow Creek (15-2), ranked No. 3 in the TABC 6A state poll, had an 11-game winning streak snapped and played Wylie (11-9) consolation game late Friday.

Shadow Creek cut Lake Ridge’s lead to 68-67 on a three-pointer by Julian Cuillier with 22 seconds remaining. Shadow Creek had the ball after Nwakamma made one of two free throws with 9.3 seconds left but Abisayo Gbakinro stole a Shadow Creek backcourt pass and made a free throw with .3 of a second remaining to clinch the win.

“When you play a team as talented and with a lot of seniors as Shadow Creek you have got to make big plays,” Lake Ridge coach Cornelius Mitchell said. “We made a lot of big plays. Eze made a lot of big plays and the last steal was a big play.”

Nwakamma scored 14 points in the first half, including a driving shot with 51 seconds left in the second quarter to give Lake Ridge a 32-30 lead on its way to a 34-30 halftime advantage. Shadow Creek regrouped with a 18-11 run in the third quarter, including a pair of three-pointers by Aiden Law, to take a 48-45 lead, but Lake Ridge countered with a 9-0 run to go up for good with Nwakamma scoring four points on a three-point play and a free throw off a Shadow Creek technical foul to cap the run with 48.8 seconds left in the third.

Gbakinro finished with 11 points while Shaqir Pack had nine points and seven assists for Lake Ridge. Law was a star in defeat, scoring 24 points including six three-pointers. Michael Collins added 19 points for Shadow Creek.

— Rick Kretzschmar

State-ranked San Antonio Wagner escapes Wylie’s upset bid

Wylie almost had the upset of the tournament on Friday, but the style of play that put the Pirates in that position came up just short.

A three-pointer by Dayveon Allen with 42 seconds left in overtime would be the winning points as San Antonio Wagner held off Wylie 52-49 in a gold division quarterfinal at Eagle Gym. Wylie’s Isaiah Shurn could not extend the game as his two three-point attempts in the final 10 seconds of overtime were off-target. Shurn was the reason the game went into overtime, blocking a driving shot by TreVaun Clark as time expired in regulation.

Unranked Wylie (10-8) had Wagner (16-4) – ranked No. 7 in the TABC Class 5A state poll – reeling in the first half. Wylie held Wagner to 6 for 29 (20.7 percent) shooting from the field in building a 30-18 halftime lead. Noah Mallory had 14 of his game-high 19 points in the first half for Wagner.

Wagner opened the second half with a 13-0 run, capped by a Clark layup. Neither team led by more than five points the rest of the way, with Wylie holding a 45-40 edge with 2:32 left in regulation thanks to two Shurn free throws. Jordan Thomas made two baskets for Wagner to even the game at 45-all, the second a layup off a steal with 1:32 remaining.

Wylie coach Stephen Pearce said rebounding was a major factor, Wagner had a 31-19 advantage on the boards with Clark and Lance Johnson grabbing 10 rebounds apiece for Wagner. Wylie also had to play without guard T.J. Leonard late as he was shaken up with 7:10 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“They dominated the boards. They had a lot of offensive rebounds and putbacks,” Pearce said. “I don’t care who the opponent is. You go out to compete and win. We just came up short in certain areas, and our killer thing was rebounding. I was happy with how we stuck together.”

Tommy Johnson added 12 points for Wylie. Allen led Wagner with 14 points while Thomas and Lance Johnson added 11 points apiece.

— Rick Kretzschmar

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