By Mark Swanson

Correspondent

The District 16-5A title may not be in the cards this year for the Leander boys basketball team, but a second place finish is, thanks in part to wins over Round Rock and Stony Point last week.
The two wins have created some separation at the top of the district standings, with Pflugerville the clear leader and Leander establishing itself as runner-up (Update: The Lions lost to the Panthers 74-61 Feb. 15).
The Panthers are a perfect 10-0 in district play with two games remaining, starting after beating the Lions (20-10, 6-4). The Lions will hope to wrap up the next best thing and the best playoff seed they can.
“Pflugerville’s going to be hard to catch,” forward Mark Nwakamma, who averaged 22.5 points in the two wins, said. “Right now, we’re just focused on us and doing what we can. We can’t control what happens to Pflugerville.”
Leander pulled away from Round Rock in the fourth quarter for a 43-29 win Feb. 1. The Dragons frustrated the Lions defensively by extending their zone, but were unable to capitalize when they had the ball.
Leander relied on Nwakamma to get its own offense into the flow of the game. He eventually found room to operate inside Round Rock’s zone, scoring 21 points to lead the Lions. Donald McBride added 10 points for Leander and Stacy Hauger scored eight.
Defensively, the Lions kept the Dragons from establishing a half-court game, outscoring them 13-3 in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
“They’re always tough to play,” McBride said. “They play kind of a different defense and play everyone tough. We had to work hard to find some gaps. This was a tough one, but a good win.”
The Stony Point game was postponed to Saturday because of icy weather, but Leander had no problems getting back in rhythm, holding on for a 58-46 win.
The Tigers have been able to create some momentum by using the entirety of its bench, throwing a variety of lineups on the floor this season. Yet the Lions steadily pulled away as they wore down Stony Point and extended a 22-16 halftime lead into a 12-point victory.
Nwakamma had a team-high 26 points and Micah Eargle added 12 points to key the offense. Marketh Biscoe and McBride added seven points each.
That leaves Leander with a trip to Westwood and a visit by McNeil to close out the regular season. Georgetown (6-5) is  third in the district and is the most realistic option to overtake Leander. Two wins will likely sew up second place, and one win might.

District 16-5A boys basketball standings through Feb. 9:

1. Pflugerville 10-0

2. Leander 6-4

3. Georgetown 6-5

4. McNeil 5-5

5. Stony Point 5-6

6. Round Rock 4-6

7. Westwood 1-8