Don't count the Guyer Wildcats out just yet.
After losing six straight games in District 7-5A play, Guyer entered Friday's game against third-place Keller Fossil Ridge riding a two-game winning streak.
And when the final buzzer sounded on Friday, the Panthers (19-9, 6-5) were Guyer's latest victims as the Wildcats led wire-to-wire in a 57-45 win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
"We've been in that position so many times this year where we've come out and played really well and weren't finishing games," said second-year head coach Trey Watts. "Part of it was that we weren't playing with conviction and belief in what we were doing. Now we're doing that, and they're making plays down the stretch."
While Guyer (12-15, 4-7) got good production from its entire roster on Friday, no one shined brighter than the Wildcats' lone senior starter, 6-foot-8 post Andrew Williams.
Williams scored a team-high 13 points, had two big blocks and controlled the post, outplaying Fossil Ridge's Brandon Conley, who was in foul trouble and a nonfactor, scoring just two points before fouling out with less than four minutes to play in the game.
"As a team, we have some size," Williams said of himself and the combination of 6-foot-6 post players Justin Griffin and Joshua Jordan. "[Conley] is a good player. When he got into foul trouble, we knew we wanted to exploit our size advantage. We wanted to pound it inside and use that to our advantage."
Down the stretch, Williams was able to seal the game and the Wildcats' third straight win and second straight over teams in current playoff standing.
Williams scored seven of his team's 15 fourth-quarter points, including a thunderous dunk to put Guyer up 13 points with 2:24 remaining in the game.
"Justin and Josh got us going early," Watts said of his team's post attack. "We felt like they'd key on Andrew, so we softened things up for Andrew early. There wasn't a lot of help-side defense on Andrew, and he delivered. He did a fantastic job of calling for the ball and, when he got the ball, delivering."
The Wildcats enjoyed a balanced scoring attack as sophomore guard Miles Crawford scored 12 points and sophomore reserve guard Zach Duncan chipped in 10. Griffin had nine points, and sophomore Jerrod Heard scored eight.
"That's the mark of an unselfish team," Watts said. "They're not concerned about numbers at all. Miles has been a good scorer for us lately, and so has Andrew. Some other guys are starting to come into their own, though."
Guyer has a lot of work to do to make up for its 1-7 start to district play, with just three games left - against Southlake Carroll and Justin Northwest, who are tied for fifth place in the district, and second-place Coppell, which topped Guyer but just by four points on Jan. 20.
But Watts said his team, which starts three sophomores and whose three main reserves are two sophomores and a freshman, is doing all it can.
"I think we're playing our best basketball right now," he said. "Obviously, we would've liked to have peaked earlier. We have a young group of guys who understand each other and their roles now. They've matured and grown into a team."
And while those underclassmen have plenty of time to earn postseason trips in the future, Williams knows his time is limited.
"That experience of getting that first win and getting on a roll was a good confidence booster," the senior post said. "Now we're coming in ready to work more than ever. We want to win out and get to the playoffs. We firmly believe we can do it."
Girls
Guyer 45, Keller Fossil Ridge 26
After taking more than three minutes to score their first points of Friday night's game, the Lady Wildcats caught fire behind the arc and cruised to a comfortable lead that they were able to extend into a runaway victory over Keller Fossil Ridge.
When Kortney Kuhl hit a 3-pointer three minutes and 14 seconds into the game to get Guyer on the scoreboard, it set off a string of made 3-pointers that helped Guyer go on a 13-2 run as the Lady Wildcats hit four of their seven 3-pointers to break out of their early shooting slump.
"They came out sagging in the paint and wanted to try to stop [leading scorer Jasmine Leday]," Guyer head coach Harold Colson said. "That three-point shooting was definitely key for us. They were going down when we needed them to."
Leday led Guyer (25-7, 10-3) with 20 points, seven rebounds and four steals and Kuhl chipped in 11 points to help the Lady Wildcats pick up their 10th win in District 7-5A play, with only Southlake Carroll remaining on Tuesday before Guyer heads into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed from the district.
Guyer will face Flower Mound Marcus (21-12, 10-3), the second seed from District 8-5A, in the first round on a date and site to be determined.
"We're preparing for the next game," Colson said. "We're definitely not looking at the playoffs yet. Tomorrow we get started on Southlake. We still haven't gotten there [playoffs] yet. The postseason is in the back of our minds, but so is getting better and continuing to do the things we need to do."
ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com.
Boys
Guyer 57, Keller Fossil Ridge 45
Fossil Ridge 7 17 9 12 - 45
Guyer 14 16 12 15 - 57
Fossil Ridge (19-9, 6-5) - Ryan Parker 6, Ja'Vonta Dansby 6, Nate Jackson 17, Chris Kouakou 10, Brandon Conley 2, Cameron Montgomery 4.
Guyer (12-15, 4-7) - Jerrod Heard 8, Sean Choate 2, Miles Crawford 12, Zach Duncan 10, Joshua Jordan 3, Justin Griffin 9, Andrew Williams 13.
Girls
Guyer 45, Keller Fossil Ridge 26
Fossil Ridge 8 8 5 5 - 26
Guyer 19 10 11 5 - 45
Fossil Ridge (4-26, 2-11) - Myah Pacheco 4, Jennifer Licerio 2, Madison Crawford 8, Allyson Te'O 7, Chloe Blakenship 4, Toni Smith 1.
Guyer (25-7, 10-3) - Kortney Kuhl 11, Renee Washington 5, Brittany Kuhl 3, Jasmine Leday 20, Quamese Moss 3, Sylvia Nwiba 2, Katy Davis 1.
