Suffering 21 turnovers, Cedar Creek is pounded by McCallum

Cedar Creek's Kenji Franklin soars for the dunk against McCallum on Friday at the Eagles gym

By Jim Irish

Photos by Robert Washington 

As talented as he is, Kenji Franklin can’t carry Cedar Creek boys basketball on his shoulders by himself.

The 6-foot-6 senior earned a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds against McCallum at the Eagles' gym. But he didn’t receive adequate assistance from his teammates in a lopsided 67-41 District 24-5A loss. He added one assist and two steals

Opponents realize that Cedar Creek goes first and last to Franklin, who plays the entire 32 minutes of most games. He did not score in the fourth quarter and appeared fatigued. With only eight players suited, Cedar Creek had no depth to replace him for a few minutes.

"Every time he drove, he was seeing multiple bodies switch (to him),” Cedar Creek coach Chris Young said about the coverage on Franklin. There are a lot of times where he’s good enough to slither past some people. He couldn’t do that tonight.”

"They did a good job of capitalizing on our turnovers."

-- Cedar Creek coach Chris Young

The worst statistic, by far, for Cedar Creek was 21 turnovers on errant passes, nimble-fingered steals by McCallum, and poor dribbling.

"They did a good job of capitalizing on our turnovers,” Young said.

Franklin drives for a layup between a trio of McCallum players

McCallum (14-7, 3-0) exploited Cedar Creek’s penchant for turnovers, scoring a season high of 25 points in transition, McCallum coach Daniel Fuentes said.

"Everyone sees the score, with me, it was what we did defensively,” Fuentes said. “First, the focus was on Kenji. Everyone’s focus is on Kenji. You can’t play him one-on-one. Whoever defends him is gonna have to get help.”

The Eagles (13-12, 2-1 in district) defeated McCallum in both games last season, including bi-district. But the Eagles no longer have point guard Robert Conrad, last season’s district MVP, on the roster. Conrad is currently earning minutes for Trinity University in San Antonio.

"... First, the focus is on Kenji. Everyone's focus is on Kenji. You can't play him one-on-one. Whoever defends him is gonna have to get help."

-- McCallum coach Daniel Fuentes

Eli Meyers, a wing, was the only other Cedar Creek player in double figures with 15 points, including 3-of-6 from three-point range.

Phineas Koplin, a 6-3 senior averaging 15 points a game, sank only 1-of-9 from long range and finished with five points.

Braydon Adams, averaging seven points a game, was held to two points.

McCallum went on a 16-point run early in the second quarter to grab a 33-17 advantage. George McCoy, a 6-4 senior, knocked down three of his four 3-pointers in three minutes. He was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points. Luke Dunham, Ethan Plummer, and George Brode all scored in double figures.

McCallum had another run in the final quarter in which it outscored Cedar Creek 24-6.

Cedar Creek visits the Liberal Arts and Science Academy at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Jim Irish is a freelance writer in Bastrop, Texas