Terrance Arceneaux's Double Daggers Deliver Beaumont United Title

Some games at the UIL State Basketball tournament make you sit back and catch your breath before you move on to process the events that just unfolded. Tonight's class 5A matchup between Beaumont United and Dallas Kimball was one of such games, and then some. We had high flying dunks, a double digit comeback, overtime and buzzer beaters (plural) all rolled into one to make for the best state championship game in recent memory, with Beaumont United coming out on top 71-70 in OT.

All grandeur aside, the story of this game begins and ends with Terrance Arceneaux. The United junior was the key to the Timberwolves building a 17-point lead in the first half, and when the going got tough came up with the goods for his team with clutch buckets at the end of regulation and the overtime period.

Kimball looked to have wrapped the game up, headed to the free throw line to shoot a 1-and-1 with under 7 seconds remaining, but a front end miss sprung Arcenaux to take off down the other end of the court where he got to the corner and knocked down the game tying basket with an extreme degree of difficulty.

As if that wasn't enough for Arceneaux's state tournament debut, he turned around and did the same thing in overtime, this time from dead on behind the three point line to send his teammates and the entire city of Beaumont into delirium. The 2 buzzer beaters were Arceneaux's only two makes from behind the arc all night, but the 2022 prospect delivered in all aspects of the game to score a game high 24 and earn MVP of the championship game.

Before all of Arceneaux's late game heroics, this was the very definition of a game of runs. After a back and forth opening to the game, Beaumont opened up a 37-20 lead late in the 2nd quarter, before a quick 8-0 run before the break got Kimball back to within striking distance. Kimball continued this trend into the 3rd, getting as close as 41-40 thanks to the play of 4-star guard Arterio Morris and forward Kyron Henderson before United was able to get a little breathing room going into the 4th.

Kimball started a late charge to wrestle away the lead, eventually taking a 61-60 advantage on a Henderson tip-in with 1:30 left on the clock, before Morris extended to give the Knights a 63-61 lead with under a minute. After a Deonte Green free throw and a Beaumont United turnover, Kimball looked for their 7th title, before a missed free throw and Arceneaux's clutch play sent the game to OT.

Morris' 19 points were all earned over the teeth of the defense, as BU's gameplan was clearly to make life tough on the Kimball star. Kyron Henderson's 13 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocks played a huge part in Kimball making it to OT in the first place, but they were without him in the final minutes of overtime after he fouled out less than a minute into the extra period.

In addition to the 24 points Arceneaux came up with, he also added 7 boards and an astounding 9 blocks, though this was no one man effort. Wesley Yates III did most of his damage early in scoring 16 points, and sophomore Trealyn Porchia put in 17 including some clutch free throws late in the game.

While United fans will be partying long into the night over their first state championship in school history, the rest of class 5A will be on notice that all 3 of these main contributors are returning next year, where another undefeated state championship run is looking like it might be on the cards for Beaumont United.