Wylie coach David Black glanced at the District 9-5A standings and noticed four teams with even records through two district games entering the week.

"In 9-5A, every game's a dogfight," Black said.

Wylie (13-5, 1-1), which visits Allen today, is hoping last week's Wrangler-Pirate/Coca-Cola Classic championship serves as a springboard to the rest of the regular season. Wylie has won nine of its last 11, and it won by an average margin of 19 points in last week's tournament.

"We're obviously pleased to win the tournament. That was one of our team goals, to win a tournament," Black said. "Our next team goal is to get to the playoffs."

Wylie's trio of Cederick Clark, Thadd Varmall and Tedrick Urune combine to average nearly 44 points per game. Varmall averaged 20.5 points in Wylie's final two tournament games.

Lancaster looks good, even in defeat

Lancaster will return to District 15-4A play Friday as one of the area's hottest teams.

The Tigers have won eight of their last nine, with the lone loss coming to Kimball in last week's Dallas ISD/Coca-Cola Tournament. Lancaster beat Seagoville and A. Maceo Smith in tournament play.

Lancaster's 75-69 loss to tournament champion Kimball, however, was something of a moral victory. Kimball won by an average margin of 24 points per game in the tournament. Kimball beat first-round opponent Longview by 59 points and beat Skyline by 25 in the final.

Lancaster (13-5, 2-0) visits Red Oak on Friday. Jacolby Anderson and Tacolby Jackson averaged 16 points each in tournament play.

Garland rebounds in a big way

Garland is making teams forget its 4-21 record last season.

Before Wednesday's District 10-5A game against South Garland, the Owls had won eight of their last nine. They beat Fort Worth Polytechnic to place third at last week's McDonald's All-Star Invitational in College Station.

"A year ago, we were 1-3 in the tournament. This year, we were 3-1," Garland coach Randy Love said. "They're upbeat. Their attitudes are the biggest change. They believe in each other."

Garland (13-5, 2-0 before Wednesday) visits North Garland on Friday. The Owls were winless in district play last season.

Finis Craddock averages 16.3 points for Garland. Craddock was an all-tournament selection last week. Marcus Thompson is among the area leaders in assists, averaging four per contest.

Defense sparks hot streak for Keller Fossil Ridge

Defense has been the key to victories for Keller Fossil Ridge.

The Panthers, who beat Justin Northwest for third place at last week's Mineral Wells tournament, lead 4A area teams in defense, allowing 45.6 points per game. Fossil Ridge (16-4, 5-0) hosts Fort Worth Boswell in a District 6-4A game today.

Fossil Ridge has held 12 teams to 50 points or fewer. Fossil Ridge has won 12 of its last 13.

The Panthers are allowing 42 points in five district games, which includes a season-best 29 points against Saginaw on Dec. 18. Offensively, Brandon Edmonson leads Fossil Ridge in scoring (13.8 points per game).