Despite playing three games during Thanksgiving break, the days of rest were seen on the court for the Coppell boys basketball team. 

The Cowboys experienced a slower start than preferred and had to overcome inconsistent runs of play to defeat Dallas Woodrow Wilson, 70-65, at CHS Arena on Tuesday. 

The Cowboys (6-4)  and Woodrow Wilson (3-4) battled early in the first quarter. The Wildcats scored first with a layup but a 3-point play from Coppell senior guard Naz Brown gave the Cowboys a 5-4 lead. With four seconds remaining in the first quarter, Coppell senior forward Ryan Agarwal and senior guard Eric Lapkin scored layups and a pair of free throws from senior forward Alex Morgan gave the Cowboys a 15-11 lead.

The Wildcats got more aggressive in the first six minutes of the second quarter. Despite a six point deficit, Woodrow Wilson took a 20-19 lead over the Cowboys. Coppell sophomore guard Alex Tung hit a 3-pointer to recover the lead for Coppell and Morgan scored another pair of free throws to give Coppell a 27-26 lead going into halftime. 

Despite the Wildcats scoring a 3-pointer to open the second half, Brown responded with his own 3-pointer and a 3-point play from Tung increased the Cowboys’ lead to four points. Tung would go on to score another 3-pointer but the Wildcats were able to reduce the deficit to one point. With 3:12 remaining in the third quarter, the Wildcats responded to Brown’s rebounded basket with two 3-pointers to give Woodrow Wilson a 41-38 lead. However, Coppell senior guard Devank Rane, sophomore forward Arhan Lapsiwala and Agarwal all scored layups to give the Cowboys a 46-44 lead. Brown and Agarwal each scored layups to finish a 12-3 run and give Coppell a 50-44 lead to close the third quarter.

Rane scored on a fastbreak layup to open the fourth quarter and Tung scored a 3-pointer and a layp to continue the Cowboys’ run. Brown scored a 3-pointer and threw up an alley oop dunk for Agarwal to give the Cowboys a 14-point lead. Woodrow Wilson responded with a 10-4 run and reduced the deficit to four points with 2:51 left to play. The Cowboys were able to make multiple clutch free throws and rode out a 11-5 run to defeat the Wildcats. 

“The effort is there and the intensity is there but the consistency is what we’re missing,” Coppell coach Clint Schnell said. “You see moments and you see flashes where things look really good on the defensive and offensive end and the execution is there. Then, there are moments where it disappears. At the end of the day, us being consistent is the number one thing we need to figure out.”

Brown led the Cowboys with 21 points while Tung chipped in 19 points and Agarwal added 14 points. Woodrow Wilson senior guard Adam Kirby scored nine 3-pointers enroute to 28 points to lead the way for the Wildcats.

“My mindset is just stay aggressive and keep looking at the basket,” Tung said. “[Schnell] tells me every time to look to be aggressive and look to score.”

The key takeaway for the Cowboys in the victory is the necessity to kill off games and now allow other teams to pounce on any lead. 

“You have to have that mentality of putting teams away when you have a chance to,” Schnell said. “Some of it is on me too [because] I try to get guys off the bench that haven’t gotten playing time and give them a chance to get out there and show me what they can do and contribute so you mess with something that is working. But, at the same time, those guys have to figure out how to be a part and contribute.”

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Cowboys will take their annual out-of-town trip. After missing last year’s trip due to the pandemic, Coppell will play in the Carlisle-Krueger Classic in League City. The Cowboys will play Lake Creek at 1:30 p.m. and Clear Springs at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Clear Creek High School. On Friday, the Cowboys will play Friendswood at 7 p.m. at Clear Creek High School. Based on pool play, Coppell will also have a to-be-determined game on Saturday.

“This is my favorite part of the year; we did it my freshman and sophomore year and they were the most fun trips ever,” Agarwal said. “I’m looking forward to some team bonding, getting some wins out there, playing some new competition and some new type of basketball so it’s just a fun time with the team.”

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