Cy Falls, Cy-Fair in berth battle

It's the first of two meetings over the next two weeks involving two of 17-5A's top teams, and the results could have a major impact on not only which four teams advance into the playoffs, but also on which team is crowned the league champion.

Cy Falls matched Langham Creek's 6-0 district start for a share of the early district lead, and at the same point in the race, Cy-Fair and Cy Lakes were in a third-place deadlock with 4-2 beginnings.

In the teams' only encounter a year ago, Cy-Fair stopped Cy Falls 70-60 at the Berry Center, and after playing on Tuesday, Feb. 1, the Bobcats and Eagles close the regular season squaring off for the second time on Feb. 15.

ABOUT THE GAME

• Matchup: Cy Falls at Cy-Fair

• When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1

• Where: Cy-Fair High School

• What's at stake: The winner earns a key victory in the 17-5A race

• Cy-Fair players to watch: C-F B.J. Jones, F-C Michael Stevenson, G-F Avain Rachel, C-F Cody Wall, G Robert Richmond

• Cy Falls players to watch: PG Mitchell Badillo, G Kerry Kang, F Matt Slade, P Kavin Tillbury, P Matt Hochstrasser, F Kole Batiste

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Cy-Fair: The Bobcats started district with wins over Cy Ranch 55-49, Cy Ridge 63-57, Jersey Village 58-51 and Cy Creek 59-53, and losses to Cy Lakes 72-65 and Cy Ranch 54-44. Rachel scored 20 and Stevenson added 17 in the victory against Cy Creek at the Berry Center, and Richmond led with 17 and Jones had 11 against Cy Ranch — Jones (13.3) and Stevenson (12.1) are the team's scoring leaders - After entertaining front-running Cy Falls, Cy-Fair closes district against Jersey Village (Friday, Feb. 4 away), Langham Creek (Feb. 8 home), Cy Woods (Feb. 11 away) and Cy Falls (Feb. 15 away).

• Cy Falls: The Eagles beat Cy Ridge 60-49 and 58-32, Jersey Village 47-41, Cy Lakes 73-44, Cy Creek 54-40 and Cy Springs 54-52 out of the gate in 17-5A. Badillo, the team's top scorer at 15.3, had 21 points, Tillbury 14 and Kang 12 against Cy Springs, and in the second triumph of the season over Cy Ridge, Badillo led with 15 and Slade had 10 as 12 Eagles recorded points - Cy Falls has possibly its biggest game of the season on Friday, Feb. 4, at Langham Creek in the teams' only district meeting of the season, and it could be the deciding factor for the 17-5A championship - The Eagles wrap up league play against Cy Woods (Feb. 8 home), Cy Ranch (Feb. 11 away) and Cy-Fair (Feb. 15 home).