STATE TOURNAMENT RECAPS BELOW:
The day has finally come – PLANO EAST IS A STATE CHAMPION!
For the first time in school history, a team from Plano East High School wins a title after the Panthers took down Round Rock Stony Point 53-41 in the Class 6A final on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
DJ Hall scored 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting and grabbed six rebounds to earn MVP honors as East caps off the season with a perfect 40-0 record. The Panthers are the 13th team in UIL boys basketball state history to finish 40-0 or better – the first since 2004 when Houston Milby did it in then 5A.
East becomes the first team in Class 6A to go undefeated since its creation during the 2014-15 season. Duncanville in 2007 was the last to go unbeaten in the largest classification when the Panthers went 39-0 in 5A. That season, the team beat Humble Kingwood 60-46. Three other schools from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex ended their year undefeated state champ- Dallas Lincoln (40-0, 2002), Krum (37-0, 1994) and Pottsboro (37-0, 1972).
This was the second meeting this season between the top two teams in the Class 6A state rankings (East 1, Stony Point 2). The Panthers won 55-50 in the championship game of what used to be called the Whataburger Tournament in late December.
Hall, the 3-star 6-5 power forward, hit a pull up three to give East a 9-4 lead with 4:40 left in the first quarter. Hall dropped 31 points in the 6A Region 1 final over Keller to lead the Panthers to state for the first time since 1994. The lead grew to seven on a Rachard Angton driving layup. Angton scored again late and East led 15-11 at the end of the opening frame.
An 8-0 start to the second quarter pushed the Panthers to a 23-11 advantage. Xavier Miller scored the first four points followed by buckets by Hall and Ethan Moss and make the lead 12 at the 5:46 mark. Stony Point cut it down to 23-20 with a 9-0 run. Narit Chotikavanic snapped it with a driving layup and East led 25-20.
Neither team scored in the last 1:34 and the Panthers was up 29-24 at the intermission.
The East lead was no greater than seven and no less than three in the third quarter. Jordan Mizell scored with 2:20 left and Angton added a layup with 29 seconds on the clock as the Panthers took a 41-35 edge into the final stanza. The lead went to 10 twice early in the fourth on a three from Angton and Hall layup.
Stony Point scored with 4:13 left in the game to cut it to 49-41, but never scored again. The Tigers committed three turnovers and only attempted three three-point shots in the last half of the fourth quarter.
Angton added 13 points for East. Mizell and Chotikavanic chipped in eight and seven points. Mizell had a team-high eight rebounds and Isaiah Brewington led the team with six of their 13 steals. Stony Point’s Josiah Moseley, the Villanova commit who’s ranked the #1 player in the state, had 18 points and 12 rebounds on 8 of 17 from the field.
==============================================================
LANCASTER WITH HISTORIC 5A TOURNAMENT
Lancaster 59, Killeen Ellison 30
The Tigers allowed the fewest points in any championship game since 2021 – beating Ellison in the Class 5A state championship. Lancaster, #1 in the 5A state rankings, won its third true state title – first since winning back-to-back in 2015 and 2016. The program also won state in 2020, but as co-champions due to COVID-19. Lancaster never got a chance to play a state tournament game that year.
Argyle in 4A allowed 30 points in its title game against Hargrave in 2021.
The previous 5A championship record for fewest points was 35 by Houston Miley over Pecos in 1957. Overall, in any class, Lancaster’s 30 points allowed is tied for second fewest in any championship game. Slocum in 1A allowed 27 in 2009. The 30 points is also the fewest allowed in any 5A tourney game all-time, breaking the previous record set by…Lancaster on Thursday when the Tigers gave up 31 against Amarillo in the semis.
Dillon Battie was voted MVP with 17 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Battie averaged 22.5 points and 14.5 rebounds during the Class 5A Region 2 tournament. Amari Reed chipped in 14 points and eight boards.
=========================================================
3-PEAT FOR OAK CLIFF FAITH FAMILY
Faith Family 80, Silsbee 66
Isaac Williams made state tournament history by shooting a perfect 14 of 14 from the floor as the Eagles beat Silsbee in the Class 4A championship. It’s the team’s third-straight title and fourth since 2019. FFA has reached state in six consecutive seasons. Faith also won state in 2020, but as co-champs due to COVID-19. The Eagles didn’t play a state tournament game that year.
The Eagles shot 29 of 51 overall and 7 of 14 from three. They were dominant in the first half leading Silsbee 22-9 after the first quarter and 44-22 at the intermission. Silsbee dropped 31 in the fourth, but it was too late. Doryan Onwuchekwa added 19 points for FFA. Tony Dixon and Jazz Henderson both had nine.
Williams, the state champ MVP, became the first player in a 4A tourney game (boys or girls) to go perfect from the floor with at least 10 shot attempts. He holds the record for most attempts without a miss. He’s the first boys player to go perfect in a championship game and only the third one all-time (boys or girls). LaBradford Smith (Bay City) went 12 of 12 in the 1985 semis. Rene Wilson for the Waco Midway girls went 13 of 13 in a 1969 title game.
==========================================================
LIPAN GOES BACK-TO-BACK
Lipan 47, Shelbyville 36
The Indians took down Shelbyville in the Class 2A state championship to successfully defend their title – winning their second straight and fifth overall. Lipan defeated La Rue La Poynor 50-46 in the 2023 final.
Court Gaylor was state champ MVP with 23 points on 8 of 19 shooting and 5 of 11 from behind the arc. Payton Cornelius had seven while Tyson Tarpley and Alberto Andreatta both had six. Lipan was +24 from the three-point line – going 10 of 25 from deep while Shelbyville went 2 of 17. The Indians led 10-3 after the first quarter and 17-15 at the intermission. They pulled away in the fourth quarter.
========================================================
PONDER COMES UP SHORT VS HITCHCOCK
Hitchcock 53, Ponder 49
Ponder was in the state championship for the first time since 2014, but the Lions struggled in the fourth quarter as Hitchcock rallied to beat the Lions in the Class 3A final. Ponder didn’t make a field goal in the final 6:07 and Hitchcock ended the game on a 12-1 run. Max Hutcherson led Ponder with 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting and six rebounds.
