Trajan Wesley Fourth Quarter Free-Throws Gives Cy Falls 6A Title
San Antonio - Junior point guard Trajan Wesley hit 7-out-8 free throws in the fourth quarter to lift the Cypress Falls Eagles to their first ever UIL title over hometown favorite San Antonio Wagner. Wesley scored a game-high 20 points as the Eagles beat the Thunderbirds 63-57.
The second and third quarters proved to be pivotal for the Eagles as they went on a 29-11 run after being down to the Thunderbirds 19-11 after the first quarter.
Wesley tied the game at 23 before halftime by hitting 1-out-2 from the line. Once the break concluded, junior forward Kendall Scott scored to start the second half for Cy Falls and give the Eagles their first lead of the game 25-23 and the lead would continue to increase. With 3:08 in the third, the 6A title game MVP, junior guard Nigel Hawkins (18 points) hit a bucket to give the Eagles their biggest lead of the game, 51-40.
Wagner did race back into the game closing the gap behind sophomore point guard Jalen Jackson's 11 second half points. The Thunderbirds were one possession away from tying the game after their other sophomore guard Jelen Hanspard converted an "and 1" opportunity with 44.8 seconds to make the score 56-53. That would be the closest the Thunderbirds would get as Wesley took the game back up to a 7-point lead after four straight points.
BY THE NUMBERS
Wagner's sharpshooter Daruan Clark had trouble establishing his stroke from behind the arc in his two games. The talented Clark hit 1-out-11 attempts from threes and went 0-for-6 during Saturday's championship game.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Maitlond Wanza came off the bench for Cy Falls to help with defending Wagner's 6-foot-9 big man Tristan Clark. After scoring 10 first quarter points, Clark was held to zero points in the second quarter while Wanza, a 6-foot-8 big himself, leaned on and played physical with Clark. Wanza and other Cy Falls defenders made Clark wait 11 minutes and 27 seconds before he stopped his scoring drought.
BIG PICTURE
In 2016-2017, Cy Falls will return all five starters from this year's state title team. Easy to say that the Eagles will be pre-season No.1. The five starters accounted for all but two of the team's 63 points versus Wagner.
For Wagner, the T-birds return 4-of-5 starters, but the one piece they will lose is Baylor signee Tristan Clark. Clark averaged 17.5 points and 13 rebounds in his two games at state.