A North Texas prep school basketball game is drawing attention for its lopsided final score: 117-10.
Dallas powerhouse, and Class 4A No.1-ranked, Triple A Academy faced off Friday against Arlington's Uplift Summit International Preparatory, which moved up to Class 4A from Class A this season due to UIL rules for charter schools.
"I think it's really tough for them because they are put in a tough situation," said Tim Singleton, Triple A's head basketball coach and athletic director. "They know we would never do anything to humiliate them."
With the score 76-3 at halftime, Triple A's top players were out of the game for the entire second half.
"When they get an opportunity I'm gonna allow them to play," Singleton said about his reserve players. "So quite naturally you've got guys in their senior year, in their first year on varsity, you gotta allow them to play. And I'm not gonna tell them, 'Don't shoot the ball,' when they've been waiting to play."
Back at practice this week, the Uplift Summit Skyhawks have their heads held high.
"They just really know what the focus is. They bounce back and here they are, still playing," said Sara Ortega, a spokesperson for the school.
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Those players include 16-year-old Ward Griffin, a junior, who scored seven of the team's 10 points in the game.
He, like all of his teammates, has his sights set on other numbers, like 85. That's what Griffin scored on his history final exam a few weeks ago, the test for which he said he studied so hard and still feared he might not pass.
"The number one thing to know about Uplift Summit and Uplift Education schools is that we're here to prepare our kids to go to college and focus on their academics," Ortega said. "People are gonna see a box score. I imagine they're gonna Google a name and then see the track record of success we have, with 100 percent of kids accepted and attending college."
