Flower Mound Marcus basketball star is still eligible

The Marcus (Flower Mound) boys basketball team, which is No. 4 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 boys basketball rankings presented by the Army National Guard, got a big win Saturday when it held off Duncanville, 56-50, in a Class 5A area round game.

Two days later, Marauders got a win nearly as big without taking the court.

The University Interscholastic League ruled Monday that star guard Marcus Smart would maintain his eligibility. The UIL state executive committee determined there was no evidence of a UIL rule violation.

The eligibility of Smart, a 6-3 junior who is one of the state's top recruits in the Class of 2012, was in question since The Dallas Morning News reported that Smart and his family might be getting improper benefits by living in a home owned by a member of the school's booster club.

On Saturday, with his eligibility under review, Smart scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Marcus (34-1). Phil Forte scored 20 points to lead the Marauders, who advanced to the 5A state semifinals last year.

Jeremy Atkins scored 27 points for Duncanville (26-7), which was No. 8 in the final 5A state rankings.

MaxPreps Texas boys basketball playoff brackets

GARLAND LAKEVIEW BOYS BASKETBALL TEAMS ROLLS INTO THIRD ROUND
Chris Jones scored 27 points and Toddrick Gotcher scored 18 as Lakeview Centennial (Garland), No. 12 in MaxPreps' Xcellent 25, advanced to the third round of the 5A playoffs with a 78-70 win over Bryan.

Jones (a North Texas signee) and Gotcher (Texas Tech) helped Lakeview erase an early deficit. Lakeview (33-1), the state runner-up last season, and Flower Mound Marcus could meet in the state final.

THREE DALLAS-AREA TEAMS IN GIRLS STATE TOURNAMENT
Dallas-area girls basketball teams MacArthur (Irving) (5A), Lincoln (Dallas) (4A) and Lovejoy (Lucas) (3A) will compete this week in the state tournament at the Erwin Center in Austin.

MacArthur (35-2), which is making its first state appearance since 1986, plays Wagner (San Antonio) (32-6) in a semifinal Friday at 3:30. MacArthur's hopes rest mostly on the shoulders of star guard Alexis Jones, who is averaging 29.8 points per game in the playoffs.

Lincoln (29-3) won the 4A title in 2008 and is seeking a fourth title. Junior Camesha Turner and sophomore Breanna Hayden star for the Lady Tigers, who play Austin LBJ (27-4) at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Lovejoy (Lucas) (28-10) will make its state debut Thursday at 3:30 against Fairfield (27-10). Guards Katherine Mcbride and Millie Rivera are Lovejoy's leaders.

MaxPreps Texas girls basketball playoff brackets

ALLEN WRESTLERS WIN SECOND STRAIGHT TITLE
Since the University Interscholastic League began holding state wrestling championships in 1999, no boys team has won more than two consecutive titles. That should change next year.

Allen won its second straight UIL title on Saturday by rolling up 167 points, the most by a team since Highland Park scored 190 at the first tournament in 1990, and the Eagles did it with a team loaded with underclassmen. Allen had three state champions: senior Ophir Bernstein at 171 pounds, junior Jarrod Trotter at 130 and sophomore Nick Cobb at 180.

Flower Mound was second with 128 points.

ROCKWALL-HEATH THIRD BASEMAN TIES STATE RECORD FOR HITTING STREAK
After hitting safely in the final 41 games of last year, Rockwall-Heath junior Jovan Hernandez got a hit Friday in his first game of the season, tying the state record of 42 games set in 1990 by Orangefield's Jeff Granger. But Hernandez's streak ended the same day, when he went 0-for-4 in Rockwall-Heath's second game of the Waco ISD tournament.

"I really wanted that record," Hernandez told The Dallas Morning News. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

TOP PERFORMERS
* Ophir Bernstein, Allen wrestling: The senior finished the season with a 44-0 record after pinning Lewisville's Michael McKinney, who was previously undefeated, in the 171-pound championship match.

* Dominique Taylor, West Mesquite boys basketball: The senior guard scored 22 points and hit a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to beat Frisco Wakeland in the 4A Region II semifinals. Wakeland lost to Lincoln in the regional final.

NEWS AND VIEWS
A pair of area football stars have joined the Texas Longhorns' long list of oral commitments: Skyline junior linebacker Peter Jinkens and DeSoto junior defensive back Bryson Echols. Jinkens is the latest in a long line of linebacker stars at Skyline, which had Anthony Wallace (Oregon) and Frank Shannon (Oklahoma) sign last month. Echols had five interceptions last season, returned two for touchdowns and was selected to the 5A all-state first team. … If Lincoln (29-3) and Canyon (36-0) meet in the 4A girls basketball final Saturday, it will be a matchup of two dominant programs. Lincoln has made nine state appearances and won three titles since 1991, a run of success that most schools would envy. Canyon, however, has won a ridiculous 14 state titles since 1969. … Dallas Jesuit senior golfer Jordan Speith, who last year as a 16 year-old got national attention when he finished 16th at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, will compete in the tournament again this year. A sponsor's exemption has put Spieth back in the tournament, which is May 26-29.

Matt Wixon is the high school sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News. He can be reached at mwixon@dallasnews.com or on Twitter @mattwixon.