San Antonio Cole has seen many great teams between 1989 and now. They've had a laundry list of teams that have come close to reaching the heights that their Shaquille O'Neal-led state championship team did, but 32 years later Noe Cantu's group finally returned to the top of the mountain thanks to huge games from Trey Blackmore and Silas Livingston.
Their opponents Tatum came into the championship bout on the back of knocking off the no.1 and no.2 teams in class 3A (Dallas Madison and Brock, respectively), but faced an entirely different challenge with Cole's pace and space offense. Though Tatum's frontcourt of Trey Fite and Jaylen Boyd outsized the Cougars' front line, the game was decided by the guardplay from Cole's backcourt combo of Blackmore and Livingston.
The game started out as a scrappy affair as neither team could really get going, but Tatum's transition scoring and prowess on the offensive glass helped them to a 9-7 advantage after the 1st. The second quarter saw Livingston and Blackmore turn it on offensively, as Cole jumped out to a 5 point lead going into the break.
While the 1st half was a cagey, stop-and-start matchup, the second half completely flipped the script as Cole more than doubled their total from the first half in the 3rd quarter alone; scoring 31 points in the 3Q to blow the game open and take a 61-37 lead into the final frame. A late comeback rally from Tatum proved too little too late as the deficit was simply too much for the Eagles to overcome, although they did make the scoreline respectable as the title game finished at a score of 77-60.
Blackmore took home MVP honors with a 34 point 6 rebound performance, including an 8-13 night from the floor with 15 made free throws to go with it. Livingston limped off with an injury midway through the 4th, but made his mark on the game as he was able to put up 24 points in his time on the court. Kelby Beckstrom added 9 and Adreall Ray scored 6 to round off a complete team performance from the Cougars. With Blackmore, Livingston and Ray all returning next year, the Cougars will have their eyes on a repeat next season with this much firepower coming back.
Tatum ran the gauntlet in making it to their 4th state championship game in program history, but were ultimately let down by fouls and a cold shooting night when it mattered most. The Eagles attempted 28 more shots than Cole on the day, but only made 2 more total shots despite the disparity in attempts. Jaylen Boyd was high point with 15 points while Aidan Anthony knocked down 4 triples to give him 12 points in the loss.
