Road Warriors: Sachse grabs first-round playoff win in East Texas

PLANO, TX – The Sachse boys basketball team raised the bar for the program a year ago by capturing its first playoff win ever.

Among the Mustangs’ goals this season was to continue moving forward.

It has been anything but a conventional season, from delays due to COVID-19 quarantines to the inclement weather that hit the state last week and pushed back the start of the playoffs for an entire week.

But Sachse stayed focused on the task at hand, and that paid off on Tuesday as it claimed a 74-65 victory over Tyler Legacy in a Class 6A bi-district game at Van High School.

The Mustangs advance to the area finals for the second consecutive season where they were scheduled to take on a huge challenge in Duncanville, the No. 2 team in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 6A state poll, at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Forney High School in a game completed after The Rowlett Lakeshore Times’ press time.

Sachse entered the contest as the underdog in terms of seeding, as the No. 4 going against 10-6A co-champion Tyler Legacy.

But the teams were much more evenly-matched on the court than they were in the brackets.

The Mustangs had been in contention for the 9-6A title before suffering three losses in a four-game stretch that included a setback to eventual champion Garland, an overtime loss to South Garland and a one-point, buzzer-beating heartbreaker to Naaman Forest.

A bounce or two either way and Sachse might have found itself atop the standings.

At the same time, the Raiders proved themselves in 10-6A, but it was not easy, as they dropped a pair of games and were able to do enough down the stretch in what was a four-team race heading to the final week of the season.

Both teams had to contend with the delay, which resulted in a number of time and venue changes, but they finally settled on a Tuesday date in Van.

The game was close throughout.

The Mustangs led by two after the first quarter only to see Tyler Legacy rally to take a 36-33 lead into the break.

After a relatively even third quarter, the stage was set for a dramatic finish, with the Raiders taking a 48-47 lead to the final frame.

Perhaps experience made a difference and perhaps it did not.

While Sachse was able to pull out a 77-76 thriller last season in its opening-round game against Prosper, Tyler Legacy was in the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

The Mustangs played like a team that had been here before, stepping on the gas to outscore the Raiders 27-17 in the fourth to earn the 74-65 win.

Dylan McKeon led all scorers with 25 points, R.J. Chatman scored 18 and Alex Orji and Kai Smith added eight and seven, respectively.

That helped offset a trio of Tyler Legacy players in double figures, as they got 14 points from Jaylon Spencer, 12 from Teon Erwin and 11 from Will Mitchell.

Sachse marches on to the area finals for the second time. A year ago, it fell to state-ranked Killeen Ellison and the road gets no easier this season against Duncanville,who will carry a 22-1 record into the contest after its 72-54 win over Bryan.