The No. 21 McLennan Highlanders crushed the Collin Cougars 75-55 on the road.
Collin began the scoring with a floater by Tyreese Perry-Huggins followed by a layup by David Chong to take the early four-point lead. Joseph Mayberry III put McLennan on the board with a free throw, starting a 10-0 run highlighted by seven points from Amare Banks to give the Highlanders a six-point lead, 10-4. Chong stopped the run with a 3-pointer from the wing for the Cougars. McLennan continued to hold the six-point lead at 16-10 with 14:24 to go in the half. Collin used a 6-0 run with four points from Kevin Paul to tie the game at 16 with 12:08 on the clock. The Highlanders responded with a 6-0 run of their own to go back ahead by six, 22-16. Collin pulled within three several times before McLennan began to pull away. Leading by three, 26-23 with 5:36 to go, back-to-back buckets by Timi Ibikunle pushed the Highlander lead to seven, 30-23. The Cougars chipped away, pulling within two at 32-30. Avion Jackson added a pair of free throws for the Highlanders with one minute to go, 34-30. Brandt Evanson added a free throw for Collin late to make it a three-point lead at the break, 34-31.
Collin got within one early in the second half at 36-35 before McLennan began to break the game open. The Highlanders used a 12-0 run to make it a 13-point lead with 15 minutes to play, 48-35. The Cougars would get within 10 at 49-39 but McLennan pulled away again, extending the lead to 19 at 62-43 with 7:37 to play. The Highlanders held off Collin the remainder of the way never letting them get closer than 15.
Amare Banks led the Highlanders with 24 points, and Timi Ibikunle added 10.
McLennan: Aiden Law 3 1-2 9; Joseph Mayberry III 1 3-4 5; Kardae Turner 1 1-2 3; Amare Banks 8 4-6 24; Katayvon Jefferies 1 1-3 4; Austin Omondi 0 0-0 0; Avion Jackson 2 2-2 6; Timi Ibikunle 4 2-2 10; Habeeb Yusuf 0 0-0 0; Howard Gaskins Jr. 2 0-0 4; Joe Burgess 2 0-1 4; Maximilian Blank 2 2-6 6; Totals: 26 16-28 75.
Collin: Chris Jones 1 0-1 2; David Chong 5 2-7 15; Jayden Ramnanan 2 1-2 9; Fabian Pommells 0 2-2 2; Kevin Paul 3 8-11 14; Cortlin Siska 1 1-2 3; Tyreese Perry-Huggins 1 1-2 3; David Emelife 2 0-2 4; Travis Fralin 1 0-0 2; Brandt Evanson 0 1-2 1; Totals: 16 16-31 55.
Halftime score: McLennan 34, Collin 31; 3-pointers: McLennan 7 (Banks 4, Law 2, Jefferies 1), Collin 3 (Chong 2, Ramnanan 1); Total fouls: McLennan 23, Collin 19; Record: McLennan 21-1 (6-0).
