The Plano East boys basketball team poses for pictures after the Panthers defeated crosstown rival Plano West 57-54 Tuesday. Photo by Andy Redmond / C&S Media
By David Wolman
With a playoff berth already clinched, the Plano East boys basketball team took things another step further Tuesday, defeating Plano West 57-54 to finish as the co-champion of District 6-6A.
It marks the second district championship won by the Panthers over the last three seasons. Two years ago, Plano East won the outright title, on its way to a perfect 40-0 record and the team’s first-ever state championship. This year, Plano East will share the district title with Allen.
“I’m so very proud of our guys,” head coach Matt Wester said. “There aren’t many people outside of our locker room that thought we could have finished the regular season this way. Success hasn’t come easily for this group. I’m thankful that they get to see some results from all of their hard work.”
Plano East (27-7) enters the postseason having won nine of its last 10 games.
Wester pointed to defense as the biggest reason behind the team’s strong finish to the regular season.
“The most impressive thing about this team has to be the way they are playing defense,” he said. “There aren’t many teams that could have held District 6-6A teams to 45 points per game.”
Plano East earned the No. 2 Class 6A Division I seed out of District 6-6A. The Panthers will play a familiar foe in the bi-district round: former district rival Coppell, which will be paired with Plano East in District 7-6A during the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. Coppell and Plano East are scheduled to play at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Carrollton Creekview High School.
Coppell (24-11) carries a six-game winning streak into the postseason and hasn’t lost since since Jan. 27 when the Cowboys lost 63-57 to the state’s No. 3-ranked team, Little Elm.
“I still have a lot more to learn about Coppell,” Wester said. “They seem to be a very tough and well put together team.”
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