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McDonald's High School Basketball Classic: Twins ignite Lincoln’s rally; DeSoto, Carter, Madison win

Facing a Plano East front line that features four athletic players all 6-4 or taller, Lincoln’s gameplan Saturday was to use their guards to spread the floor and pull some of those big bodies away from the basket.

Having brothers Erick and Derrick Neal handling the ball makes executing that plan much easier.

The twins combined for 31 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and seven steals as Lincoln held on for a 57-50 victory in the marquee matchup of the McDonald’s High School Basketball Classic at American Airlines Center.

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Lincoln, ranked No. 3 in the TABC Class 4A rankings, never trailed but never went ahead of Plano East, No. 3 in Class 5A, by more than 14 points.

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Derrick Neal paced Lincoln (26-6) with 19 points. Erick Neal finished with 12 points, six steals, five assists and four rebounds. Xavier Smith led Plano East (27-5) with 22 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks.

DeSoto 58, Woodrow Wilson 48: DeSoto, No. 1 in Class 5A, outscored Woodrow Wilson 19-10 in the third quarter before cruising to victory in the event's finale.

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McDonald’s All-American guard Matt Jones scored six of his nine points for DeSoto (31-2) in the third. Terry Maston, Julian Green and Darius Jenkins, who netted eight in the final quarter, each scored 12 to lead the Eagles.

Zachary Coleman had 14 points for Woodrow Wilson.

Carter 81, Richland 70: Carter forward Vicktor Arnick turned in arguably the most dominant individual performance of the day, totaling 24 points and 10 rebounds in a victory over Richland.

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Arnick scored 12 consecutive points in the paint for Carter, No. 2 in Class 4A, at the end of the third quarter and early in the fourth. Richland was held to seven points over the final 6:45 of the game.

Madison 70, Garland Lakeview 59: Lakeview (27-7) was never able to overcome its poor shooting in the opener, finishing 9-of-27 from the free throw line and 2-of-12 from 3-point range.

Madison, No. 2 in Class 3A, grabbed the lead for good late in the first quarter. Lakeview closed within 54-52 with 6:33 remaining but Madison (25-4) answered with a 9-3 run over the next four minutes.

Lakeview’s Charles Beauregard led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.