Robinson Eliminates Palestine With 67-51 Area-Round Victory

CORSICANA — Palestine coach Bret Botard knew his team would have to play a great game Friday to take down District 17-3A champion Robinson.

In the end, the Rockets and star Carson Earp were just too much for the Wildcats.
Earp scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, and Robinson used a 24-8 run to jump-start a 67-51 victory in their 3A Region III area playoff.

With the win, Robinson will move on to next week's regional quarterfinals, where it will take on district rival Waco Connally.

Palestine, which made its first playoff appearance since 2006 and notched its first postseason win since 2005, ended the season at 12-17.

Kerry Thomas added 17 points for the Rockets, while Jeremy Lasseter had 16 points and nine rebounds.

Gee Clark led Palestine with 11 points, and C.J. Barrett added 10.

After a rough start that led to a 14-2 Robinson lead, Palestine settled down and cut the lead to 21-15 when Clark hit a 3-pointer late in the first quarter.

Palestine never got any closer. Robinson scored the next 13 points to take a 19-point lead, and the rout was on.