Sachse senior Teagan Duffie (0) had a dunk late in the second quarter of Friday’s game against Garland that swung the momentum in the Mustangs’ favor. Sachse outscored Garland 40-16 over the game’s final 18 minutes to earn a 58-35 home win over Garland. Photo by Elijah Kloepping / C&S Media

By David Wolman

[email protected]

Sachse head boys basketball coach Micah Moore sat in his office Friday and looked at 25 different scenarios for how the final District 9-6A standings and potential tiebreakers could play out.

There was one scenario in which as many as five teams could finish as co-district champions.

Wylie ended that scenario Friday evening.

The Pirates, who came into Friday’s action in first place in 9-6A and two games ahead of Sachse, Wylie East, Rowlett and Naaman Forest, topped North Garland 71-56 to capture their fourth straight district title. However, for the other four teams, three playoff spots are still up for grabs, and it is likely to come down to the final day of the regular season Tuesday to determine who makes the postseason or whether there will be a play-in tournament.

For Sachse, all it could do was focus on the task at hand Friday, which was to defeat a Garland team that has won just four games all season.

Thanks to an 8-0 run to end the first half and a dominant second half in which the Mustangs outscored the Owls 32-16 en route to a 58-35 win, Sachse has positioned itself to at least earn a spot in a play-in game. The Mustangs can do just that with a road win against Wylie on Tuesday.

“It’s been wild,” Moore said. “One of the craziest districts that I’ve ever been in, which is a testament to the coaching and the talent over here. But everybody is in the mix right now. I’ve never been part of something like this. Every night, you’ve got to come ready to play.”

Garland came ready to play Friday.

The Owls held the lead five times over the game’s first 13 minutes and capitalized on six turnovers by the Mustangs to gain the early advantage.

Garland’s last lead was 19-18 with less than three minutes remaining in the second quarter.

With Sachse struggling to make open shots from the perimeter, the Mustangs began to aggressively attack the basket. Sachse was rewarded with five free throws over a two-minute span, while forwards Caleb Lindsey and Teagan Duffie created several second-chance opportunities after grabbing offensive rebounds.

Duffie created the biggest momentum swing in the game with just under two minutes left in the opening half. The 6-foot-6 senior forward saw an opening down the left side of the lane. He dribbled toward the basket, jumped high in the air and threw down a massive one-handed dunk while being fouled. He made the ensuing free throw to cap the three-point play.

“As soon as he put it on the floor, I knew that he was going to try and get that dunk,” Moore said. “It was awesome to watch. He has been great for us defensively. He was very aggressive for us offensively today. I’m glad to see him get one of those because he is that caliber of talent.”

That dunk drew plenty of “oohs” from the Sachse fans in attendance. More importantly, it energized a struggling Mustangs offense.

Duffie’s thunderous dunk was part of an 8-0 Sachse run to end the first half as the Mustangs built a 26-19 halftime lead.

The Mustangs continued to build on that advantage in the second half, leading by as many as 28 points after a steal and dunk by senior John Dupont.

Duffie finished with 13 points, while Jose Guzman and Matthew Hudgins each added eight.

“We came out a little slow today, and Teagan’s dunk woke up everybody in the gym,” Moore said.