UIL State Tournament: Day 1 Observations

Keep up with the UIL State Tournament as TexasHoops analyst Lyndon Cook keeps you posted with updates and observations from final four action in every classification.

Mansfield Timberview is in their element at the Alamodome. 2 years ago they lifted the 5A title and on the evidence of their semifinal matchup with Manor it looks like they’re on track to hoist another gold trophy. Trazarien White, CJ Smith, Rod Soares and co. were everywhere on both ends for the Wolves, scoring and defending with equal intensity. At halftime that trio had outscored Manor’s entire team 33-29, with Soares and White starting and finishing multiple transition buckets. The threat of Jamal Shead was addressed with double teams and ball pressure, and it always seemed like Tview had numbers on the break.

Smith’s quickness was a game breaker in the open floor as they built a 20-point lead going into the 4th. While the depth of Wagner will certainly test Timberview moreso than a Manor group that struggles to score when Shead is starved of good looks, the impressive nature of their win is a sign that knocking them off will be a monumental task. While Wagner is responsible for one of the Wolves only two losses on the year, Timberview is cooking at just the right temperature and its going to be tough to deny them a 2nd title in 3 years.

Two years after making it to the 6A state title game, the Wagner Thunderbirds will contest a championship in class 5A after they outlasted Sulphur Springs 62-52 late Thursday night. Sulphur Springs started the game in the hole by double digits, though fought back to get within 5 on multiple occasions. But every time comeback momentum started to churn for the Wildcats, Wagner had an answer in the form of Journee Phillips or one of the Jackson brothers, Jalen or Ja'sean. Jalen had to battle foul trouble in a stop-start first half, but little brother Ja'sean stepped in with 4 threes to help the T-Birds to a 7-point halftime advantage.

After the break the elder Jackson was in attack mode, getting to the rim and the free throw line on his way to 18 points. Phillips' driving was also a thorn in the side of SS as he paced Wagner with a tough 19 point outing. Keaston Willis had a strong game for Sulphur Springs as did Sadaidreine Hall, but the Wildcats only got 7 points total from the rest of the roster. Wagner will lineup against Timberview on Saturday afternoon in a rematch of a thriller in the Whataburger tournament that Wagner won 78-76.

Where the past few years have seen favorites dominate in the semifinals of the class 1A state tournament, this year gave us a pair of down to the wire games to tip off the weekend. The opening matchup of the day featured last year's finalists Nazareth taking on a Jayton team making their first ever trip to the state tournament. After managing a lead for 3 quarters thanks to a 14-point first half from Aaron Hernandez, Jayton suddenly found themselves under pressure from a hungry Nazareth team led by Jake Gerber, who scored a game high 24.

Naz took a one point lead on a Gerber FT with less than a minute to play and got a stop on the ensuing possession, though they would miss a front end giving Jayton the ball back with 7 seconds remaining needing to go the length of the floor. Jayton put the ball in the hands of Tye Scogin, who came up with the play of the day in draining a runner in the paint as time expired, giving the Jaybirds a 38-37 win.

Slidell v. Oakwood similarly went down to the final possession, though this time the game-winner was missed as the ball got stuck in Oakwood's hands and they couldn't get a clean look off at the end of the game. Slidell held on to win 47-45, and will make their first state final appearance since 1943 on Saturday morning. Hunter Horner led the Greyhounds with 15 points, while Jeremiah Sargent led the way with 18 for Oakwood.

The afternoon slate of games emphasized defense, with the first game pitting the top 2 seeds in the class against each other in Brock and East Chambers. Brock ran out to an early lead but were hauled back by EC's full court pressure as things were knotted up at 22 going into the locker room. A buzzer beating three from Brock's Scott Thomas gave the Eagles a lead they wouldn't relinquish, as they held onto win 58-49 with Thomas scoring a game high 19 to go with 7 boards.

Brock will be seeing a familiar face in the state championship as Dallas Madison was victorious in the other semifinal, grinding out a 43-33 victory over San Antonio Cole. Dominique Robinson turned in an inspired double-double performance with 12 points and 11 boards, while Warren Dunn gave the Trojans a much needed spark off the bench with 8 points.

On the other end of the floor, 6-foot-10 freshman Vincent Iwuchukwu showed a lot of promise as a rim protector, tossing out 8 blocks to come close to the UIL record, and already possesses an ahead-of-schedule offensive game. He and fellow freshman Silas Livingston showed that Cole has a lot to build on for the future, scoring 19 points between the two of them.