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high school sportsBasketball

Carter boys basketball topples district-rival Kimball again

Carter continued to establish its boys basketball program as one of the state’s best with a 70-65 victory Saturday over Class 4A defending state champion Kimball at Ellis Davis Fieldhouse.

Ranked No. 2 in the SportsDay area rankings, Carter (22-4, 6-0) took sole possession of first place in District 11-4A with a balanced inside-outside combination of 6-7 junior Jeremy Combs (24 points) and 6-0 senior guard David Albert (19 points).

Carter also defeated No. 4 Kimball (11-8, 5-1) less than two weeks ago in the DISD Coca-Cola Tournament, 59-56.

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In its first district meeting, Carter built a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter before holding off a Kimball rally. Kimball came within four points with 33.8 seconds left when Kimball senior guard Jordan Adams hit two free throws to make it 69-65.

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“Kimball is still Kimball, so it means something to get a win over them,” Carter coach Robert Allen said. “We kept mixing our defenses, kept attacking the basket and using our quickness to our advantage.

“Then we got sloppy at the end. That’s what we have to work on. We play well in spurts, but then we get sloppy. Our best basketball is still ahead of us.”

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Carter’s Albert opened quickly with a 3-point shot, but Kimball senior guard Keith Frazier got off to a quick start to propel Kimball to a 19-15 first-quarter lead. Frazier’s first points came on a four-point play as he hit a free throw after a 3-pointer.

But Carter’s quickness asserted itself in the second quarter. Carter defended the 6-5 Frazier by alternating between the 6-0 Albert and 6-6 senior Victor Haywood in man-to-man coverage. Frazier scored 13 points in the first nine minutes but only five in the next 17.

Frazier ended with a team-high 23 points, with no one else in double figures as Kimball struggled with turnovers and cold shooting even when it got open looks.

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Kimball finished strong last season with a state title run after taking second in district behind South Oak Cliff.

Carter, which last advanced as far as the third round in the state playoffs in 2009, got production from many players, even with normal sixth man Tyler Harris unavailable as he competed in the UIL state choir competition. Carter picked up 19 points from Haywood and 5-7 senior Xavier Hodge and got a defensive spark off the bench from senior Corlon Russell.

Carter took its largest lead with six points by Hodge. He hit three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt and connected on a 3-pointer in the final 50 seconds of the third quarter to give Carter a 57-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter.