Second-half swoon wrecks Elks upset bid

Burleson got hot in the second quarter to claim a halftime lead before the bottom fell out in the second half of a 55-32 loss to Mansfield Summit in a District 7-4A game Tuesday at the BHS Arena.
The loss, Burleson's fifth straight, dropped the Elks to 2-6 in district play and 12-12 overall.
After the Jaguars (6-2, 18-8) took a 10-4 lead in the game's opening 4:19, Burleson made a 9-4 run over the remainder of the period to close the gap to 14-13. Senior forward Turner Schwarz and senior guard Jacob Richardson combined for nine of the Elks' first-quarter points.
A pair of free throws by BHS senior forward Lance Forehand gave the Elks a 15-14 lead in the opening minute of the second quarter, but Summit responded with six straight points to move ahead 20-15.
Two free throws and a 3-pointer by Schwarz, followed by five straight points from senior forward Jared Levy, ignited a 12-4 Burleson run, however, to give the Elks a 27-24 halftime advantage. 
Schwarz made it 29-24 on the first possession of the second half, but a Schwarz free throw with 4:57 left in the period was the only other point Burleson would score in the period.
Summit, meanwhile, put up 19 points in the quarter to build a commanding 43-30 lead going into the final period.
Burleson's offensive drought did not break in the fourth quarter, as the Elks managed only a Schwarz field goal with 4:22 left to play to give Burleson five points in the second half.
The Elks went 1 for 7 from the free throw line in the second half after making 8 of 9 in the first half. Burleson also committed 16 turnovers after halftime compared to five in the first half.
The stark contrast in his team's play in the game's two halves left Burleson coach Ted Tomchesson baffled.
“In the first half, we did everything we needed to do to be successful,” he said. “And despite what people may think, we didn't really go in (at halftime) and tell them to change too much, except maybe to limit the offensive rebounds. We were really pleased with the way we were attacking their pressure.
“I'll give them credit, they attacked us a little bit differently in the second half,” Tomchesson continued. “They tried to get the ball into the paint more instead of shooting from the outside. That hurt us some, but something happened in those kids' minds. I don't know if they were playing not to lose, but that's a lot of basketball to play for playing not to lose. It was like a totally different team showed up in the second half.”
Burleson was scheduled to play at Cleburne on Friday before hosting Joshua on Tuesday. Burleson-Cleburne results were not available at press time.