Last season's deflation is this season's motivation for the Mesquite Horn boys basketball team.

Horn made the playoffs for the first time last season but lost, 74-58, to Skyline in the opening round.

"It left a real bad taste," senior center Quincy Acy said. "We were all just stuck on making it to the playoffs for the first time. Now we're trying to do better."

Horn is well on its way to improving on last season's finish. The Jaguars are 21-6 and alone atop District 12-5A with a 4-0 record. Horn is ranked No. 16 in the state in Class 5A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.

With four seniors in the starting lineup, Horn has maturity to go along with its talent.

"Most of the kids have bought into the idea that we can accomplish more as a team than we can as a group of individuals," coach Billy Clark said.

Last week, Horn won at rival Mesquite, 68-64, for the first time. Mesquite reached the state tournament in Austin last season, taking a route Horn would like to travel this season.

"It was a goal for us to get to the playoffs. Now our goal is to get back there and win as many as we can," said Clark, in his fourth season as head coach. "I don't think this senior class is content with just simply getting there."

The senior starters are Acy, point guard John Bowman, guard Kevin Oliver and forward Dominique Collier. Sophomore guard Andre' Nwose completes the starting lineup, and sophomore guard David Harris is usually first off the bench.

At 6-8, Acy stands out as a dominant force in the middle. Acy said he hasn't decided whether to attend prep school next year or sign with a college, but he said Baylor, Auburn and Nebraska are recruiting him the hardest.

Entering the week, Acy averaged 18.3 points a game, and Bowman, the point guard who has signed with Texas State, averaged 18, but both mesh well with Horn's team concept.

"Sometimes we might get caught up in trying to score, but we're always trying to win," Acy said. "It's not like we're trying to get scholarships, we're trying to win."

Horn's playing style requires teamwork, with players setting picks for each other and helping on defense.

"We like to play team ball," said Collier, a transfer from Lancaster who plans to play at West Point or The Citadel next season. "Nobody ever hogs the ball. We all look for each other."

The players found out just how much they could count on each other when Bowman had to miss a game to take the SAT. Oliver stepped into the starting lineup, and the team pulled together for a 58-56 win over Coppell in the semifinals of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Tournament.

Horn went on to win the tournament with a 61-45 victory over Richardson Berkner.

Another key moment came in a 62-56 win over traditional 4A state power South Oak Cliff in the DISD-Coca Cola Tournament.

MILTON HINNANT/DMN

Mesquite Horn has received big contributions from point guard John Bowman (center), who has signed with Texas State. He entered the week averaging 18 points per game.

"When we played South Oak Cliff, that's when we came together as a team," Bowman said. "When we beat them, that's when we realized we can match up and beat anybody."

Horn also has a six-point win over Plano East and three-point losses to area powers DeSoto and Highland Park.

"Once we figured out that we could beat top-ranked teams such as South Oak Cliff and Plano East, and then we hung in there with DeSoto, that's when we knew we could be a state-bound team," Collier said.

However, Horn's players aren't taking anything for granted. Horn, in its sixth season as a varsity program, still hasn't won a playoff game. Last season's first-round defeat is still fresh on the players' minds.

"It gave us something to strive for this year," Bowman said. "When we get there, that's not where we want to stop. We want to go further this year."

MEET THE JAGUARS