Slow starts and inconsistent execution on both ends of the court plagued the Coppell basketball team in its last three games but the Cowboys changed the tone against Plano West.

After leading by 11 points in the first half, the Cowboys cruised to defeat Plano West, 54-24, last night at CHS Arena. The win marked the end of the first round of District 6-6A play.

Coppell welcomed back senior guard Naz Brown from injury, who paced the Cowboys with 15 points, while sophomore guard Alex Tung scored 11 points and senior guard Devank Rane chipped in 10 points.

“I love playing with these guys so it felt great to be back,” Brown said. “I was able to get out there in front of the home crowd so it was a lot of fun to get back out there.”

Despite Plano West (7-18, 0-7 in District 6-6A) draining a 3-pointer to open the scoring of the game, the rest of the first quarter was the Cowboys. Brown scored six points while Tung and senior forward Noel Berhe added five points apiece to give Coppell a 16-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.

“This was one of the best starts we’ve had all season and we preach about how our starts have to come from the defensive end and that’s what we did,” Rane said. “If we start off from the defensive end then the offensive end just comes to us.”

The second quarter was dedicated to the tenacity of the Cowboys’ defense. Coppell held the Wolves to only two points in the second quarter. At halftime, Coppell led, 26-7.

“We came out defensively and just smothered them,” Coppell coach Clint Schnell said. “We held them to three made shots the whole first half and there was a good six minute stretch there in the second quarter where they didn’t even make a shot so our defensive intensity and coming out like that gave us energy and excitement to play on the offensive end.”

Plano West scored nine points in the third quarter, two more than all of the first half but Rane led the Cowboys with two 3-pointers to give Coppell a 41-16 lead at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, all starters were pulled but the Cowboys offensive drive continued. Tung’s 3-pointer highlighted a 13-8 run to close out the game.

After three consecutive losses, the Cowboys’ 30-point victory will serve as a confidence boost going into the second round of district play.

“It was a win we needed just as a team to make ourselves feel better and to lift our spirits,” Schnell said. “The guys were tired of losing and they showed it in how they played.

Last night’s game also marked Teacher Appreciation Night for the Cowboys.

The Cowboys host Flower Mound Marcus at CHS Arena on Tuesday, with tipoff at 8 p.m., to open the second round of district play.

“[We went 4-3 in the first round] and it’s not what we really wanted but that’s just how things go sometimes and we know that, in the second round, we still control our future,” Rane said. “We have to go one game at a time and go from there. We have to learn from what we did against these teams in the first round and fix those mistakes going into the second round.”

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