Scots Throttle Emerson in Playoff Opener

Highland Park started its boys basketball playoff push in style with a 66-38 victory over Frisco Emerson on Tuesday in Garland.

The balanced Scots (26-7) opened up an early double-digit advantage and steadily pulled away from the Mavericks (16-14) in the Class 5A Division I Region II bi-district game.

The postseason path will get more difficult on Friday when HP faces Lufkin in the area round. The game will be in Athens, on the same court where the Panthers (34-2) knocked off Melissa on Tuesday for their 31st consecutive win.

HP extended its winning streak in the bi-district round to 10 straight years. The Scots have gone at least three rounds deep in the playoffs in each of their last four seasons in the 5A classification.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, the W.T. White boys launched their postseason bid in Division I by pulling away late for a 54-47 bi-district victory over North Mesquite.

Ardon West was spectacular for the Longhorns (24-7), scoring 32 points, or almost 60 percent of WTW’s offensive total, in addition to grabbing six rebounds.

WTW, which tied for the District 13-5A title during the regular season, will carry a seven-game winning streak into a matchup against Red Oak in the next round on Friday at Forester Fieldhouse.

Meanwhile, Hillcrest was eliminated from the 5A Division II playoffs after a 70-49 loss to West Mesquite on Tuesday. The Wranglers were in control throughout, despite 13 points apiece from Jordan Johnson and DeJahn Corbin for the Panthers (14-16).