No.4 ranked Texline claimed their 2nd UIL State Championship in school history Friday morning at the Alamodome, coming out on top after a wild final quarter saw them lose a double digit lead, then come up with just enough plays to sneak out the door with a 1-point title game win thanks to a huge 3-pointer from junior Will Luther.

For 3 quarters, the Tornadoes outplayed de facto defending 1A champs Slidell (champions in 2019 and finalists in 2020), but the Greyhounds answered the bell resoundingly to start the 4th, turning a 44-32 deficit into a 48-44 lead thanks to the play of seniors Brock Harwell and Jerl McCasland who scored 12 of Slidell's 16-0 run to start the 4th.

A Colton Luther layup finally stopped the bleeding, but Slidell hit a pair of free throws to keep their lead at 4 going down the stretch at 50-46. Slidell had a chance to put the title on ice, but an 0-2 trip to the line left the door open for Texline to force a wild finish.

At which point, enter WIll Luther. The Texline junior had been impressive to that point, but what he did in the final 40 seconds of the title game will go down in Texline lore for years to come. A pull up three, followed by a deft runner after Slidell had gone 1-2 at the line tied the game up at 51 with 17 seconds to play. Texline committed a foul immediately after tying the game, sending Harwell to the line where he went 2 for 2 to re-establish Slidell's 2 point advantage.

Slidell elected not to foul with 4 to give, and were punished when Luther dialed up what proved to be the game winner from well behind the line, giving the UIL State Tournament an electric start to the abbreviated weekend.

Luther finished with 21 points, including 8 in the final 40 seconds to go with 11 a piece from Elias Espino and Stratton Potter for the Tornadoes.

Slidell was led by Brock Harwell, starring in his 3rd straight state tournament with a game high 23, while fellow senior Jaden Luttrell finished with 17 points and 7 boards.