UIL State Tournament: Championship Saturday Recaps

TexasHoops analyst Lyndon Cook recaps who took home gold in class 1A-5A on a Championship Saturday full of excitement and high level hoops.

Lipan 49 Nazareth 42

Lipan successfully defended their state title in a very similar game to last year's 1A championship. Both games were a grind-it-out type win over a Region 1 team and both games featured a Phillips brother plagued by foul trouble for Lipan. Ty Phillips was restricted to 20 minutes on the floor but Santanna Martinez and Bryce Shockley came up with the goods to get Lipan over the line.

Nazareth had foul troubles of their own, with standout junior Jake Gerber only playing 11 minutes and scoring 3 points after going for 23 in the semifinal against Borden County. Gerber's absence was balanced out by older brother Slade Gerber and Nathaniel Van Dijk stepping up to score 14 each.

With the two teams going wire to wire as No.1 and No.2 in the classification, this one was sure to be a fun game and it did not disappoint. Shockley put up an MVP-caliber performance with 14 points on 5-7 shooting, and for the second year in a row Martinez clinched the game with a late steal and layup. Ty Bryant added 12 points to go with 4 blocks and 4 assists.

Bowie 32 Mount Vernon 28

It was low-scoring and at times hard to watch, but when the dust settled at the end of the 3A championship Bowie emerged with a 6th state championship in school history after besting Mount Vernon 32-28. This one was always going to be tight considering the level of defense that both teams play.

Bowie led by 7 with 2 minutes remaining but Mount Vernon ripped off 5 straight points to cut the Jackrabbit lead to 2. After Bowie missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Mount Vernon's Tyler Cooper was fouled on the drive to send him to the line for a 1-and-1 of his own. Cooper's foul shot came off the back iron and was boarded by Bowie, whose quest for a first championship in 44 years ended in success when Kason Spikes iced the game with a pair of free throws.

Mount Vernon never led after the 1st quarter but kept things tight through the play of Kason Pletcher with 16 points. MV tied the game at 21 right at the end of the 3rd quarter, but a rare Daniel Mosley three pointer (after about 10 seconds of being left wide open in the corner) gave Bowie a lead they would never relinquish.

Speaking of Mosley, the junior was phenomenal for the Jackrabbits on both ends to secure the most important double-double of his career with a 17 and 10 stat line. Justin Franklin made some important shots early and scored all of his 9 in the first half, while Gary Mosley was a rock on defense and pulled down 9 boards of his own.

Stinnett West Texas 61 Thorndale 55

West Texas was the only newcomer to this year’s 2A State tournament field, and wound up taking home their first championship after 6 threes from sophomore Jonah Villanueva propelled them to victory. Villanueva scored a game high 22 points after going 1-5 from the floor in the semifinal.

Thorndale were playing in their third straight state tournament but first championship game since 2008 after they knocked off defending champs Muenster in the semifinals. Ty Prince was dangerous on the drive in the second half especially, and scored 16 before fouling out with 2:30 to play. In Prince’s absence up stepped Lance Niemtschk and Ashton Albert with back to back threes to cut West Texas’ lead to 2 with 90 seconds remaining.

Jalin Conyers and company held firm in the final stretch and converted their free throws to grab the school’s first state championship. Conyers only made 1 field goal but hurt Thorndale at the line with 8 makes from the stripe and finished with a 10 and 10 double-double. He would finish with 10 while Gage Cassity chipped in 13.

Sam Reeves and Albert closed out their 3rd straight trip to the Alamodome with 13 each for the Bulldogs.

Port Arthur Memorial 75 Justin Northwest 69

Port Arthur fans filled nearly half of the lower bowl in the Alamodome and gave their team a boost on the court as Memorial came from behind to knock off No.2 Northwest and win their first ever state championship. Chants of "P-A" lasted all 4 quarters, and noticeably increased in volume in the 4th quarter when Darion Chatman scored 13 points in the frame to take the game over for the Titans.

Chatman took home the MVP award for the game after finishing with 17 points and 7 rebounds, and senior wing Thailan Wesley was lethal again with 21. Chatman's outburst took place during a 23-7 run that started in the late 3rd quarter and settled the game for the Titans

Northwest controlled most of the first half and led by as many as 10, but were hurt by foul issues and had 3 starters end the game on the bench from fouls. The backcourt combo of Avery Anderson and Julien Smith, so good in the semifinal win over Alamo Heights, combined to go 5-27 from the floor.

Luckily for Northwest, forward Mason Hix stepped up in a big way to drop 27 points including 4 makes from deep. Sammie Freeman had another monster game on the boards with a double-double of 11 points and 15 rebounds, but the Texans will leave San Antonio disappointed for the second year in a row.

Silsbee 104 Dallas Carter 101

The 4A state championship was as exhilarating a game as there's been since the state tournament moved to San Antonio, as both teams played offense with the brakes cut in a high octane shootout. Silsbee's big game experience paid off end the end with the Tigers able to defend their crown in a 3-point win.

Both teams shot astoundingly high percentages in the game, with Carter going 11-18 for three and Silsbee well above 50% from the floor. It was the free throw line where Silsbee really did damage, going 30-34 from the charity stripe.

Devon McCain was responsible for 15 makes from the line, and garnered an MVP nod with a double-double of 39 points and 11 rebounds. Braelon Bush was not far behind in the scoring charts, pouring in 32 of his own. Jordyn Adams picked up an injury in the 3rd quarter but battled through to put up 11 points.

For Carter, their offensive prowess was no better exemplified than by junior guard Zahad Munford, who went 6-7 from three and tallied 37 points. There were points aplenty to be had for the Cowboys, with Malek Butler and Dante Stearns going for 16 and 14 respectively.