In Shaquille O’Neal’s heydey, opposing coaches employed the “Hack-a-Shaq” strategy in an attempt to limit the big center’s offensive productivity. Saturday in the Wildcat Gym, the Princeton Panthers used an aggressive defensive stance against the Paris Wildcats and All-Region standout Seljah Johnson.
Johnson thwarted the “Hack-a-Sel” approach by canning 11 of 14 free throws and scoring 21 points to pace the still-unbeaten Cats’ 83-48 rout of the District 12 champions in a playoff warmup game. The Cats, now 32-0, start the Class 4A playoffs Tuesday, 7 p.m., at Pittsburg High against Tyler Chapel Hill (12-20).
Despite their losing record and the District 16 No. 4 seed, the Bulldogs own a win over district champion Kilgore. They beat Gladewater, 71-69, Friday in a tiebreaker game to earn the right to face the District 15 champion Wildcats.
The warmup game featured the state’s Nos. 20 (Paris) and 24 (Princeton) ranked teams. The game held little suspense, as Paris raced out to 25-15 lead after one quarter and took a 48-21 edge to the locker room at halftime. The Cats showed the best execution on the offensive end since early in the season to overpower the smaller Panthers (25-6).
Princeton was defenseless to stop the quick-paced Cat attack, so the Panthers resorted to fouling early and often. The Cats responded by making 25 of 32 foul shots (78%).
The Paris starters extended the lead to as many as 36 points (69-33) before turning over the floor to the bench with 5:20 remaining. The reserves did a credible job, and even JV call-up Clint Franklin was able to record his first varsity points.
The junior Embry twins were impressive in the offensive flow. Jordan scored 18 points with 11 rebounds, a block, and 2 steals. Jared scored 7 with 5 rebounds, 6 assists, a block and 3 steals. Senior point guard Roy’D Jones scored 13 points and had 4 steals, while sophomore guard Jalon Pipkins scored 6. Sixth man, senior KD Scott, managed 8, including a breakaway slam dunk to puncutate the closing minutes.
But Johnson was the focus of the Princeton defense and wore a defender on his uniform all night. He still managed 21 points and 9 rebounds plus a block.
For Princeton, junior sharp-shooter Derek Lockman was the only Panther in double figures with 15.
The Panthers, like Paris, went through their district schedule unbeaten. Princeton’s only other losses this season were to North Lamar (twice), 7th-ranked Argyle (by 1 point), Class 2A No. 12 Clarksville (by 6), and to Tatum, a preseason top 10 team.
So now the undefeated watch turns serious. The Cats face the harsh reality that their first loss, if and when it happens, will be their last.
The winner of Tuesday’s Paris-Chapel Hill game moves on to an area round match later in the week against the winner of District 14 runnerup Wills Point and Ferris, a team the Cats have beaten twice already. Two wins next week would move Paris into the regional quarterfinals where they would face the survivor of the bracket that includes Kilgore, Liberty-Eylau, Athens, and Canton. The Cats own wins over L-E and Athens, so there’s well-founded optimism for a long playoff run.
The regional quarterbacks are scheduled for March 2-3, and the Region 2-4A tournament is March 6-7 in Commerce.