UIL State Tournament: Day 2 Observations

Half the championship games are set for Saturday, with 6 more spots to be claimed on Friday. TexasHoops.com guides you through all the Day 2 action as we gear up towards championship Saturday.

Jalin Conyers returned to the 2A title game in style, pounding Martin's Mill in the paint to the tune of 33 points and 13 rebounds as Gruver advanced to the 2A championship 55-42. For Conyers it has been nothing but success since his transfer from last year's 2A champs Stinnett West Texas; Gruver played for a title in football (a loss to powerhouse Mart), and will now try to reverse their fortunes Saturday afternoon for the basketball crown. Outside of Conyers' dominance, Gruver got 14 points from Carter Armes and 6 from Keegan Kelp and outrebounded Martin's Mill 44-15 in the game.

Gruver's opponents on Saturday will be all too familiar with Conyers, as his West Texas team knocked out Shelbyville in the semifinals in 2018. Shelbyville had no such trouble in this year's semis, routing Hearne 83-51 on the back of huge performances from Jay Buckley, Jordan Boykins and Cole Ferguson. Hearne kept things close for a quarter, though Buckley and Boykins' scoring soon left them in the Dragons' wake. While Gruver's size gave Martin's Mill trouble (the Mustangs don't suit up a player over 6-foot-1), Shelbyville can battle Conyers on the block and will certainly be a tougher challenge than last year.

While Oak Cliff Faith Family and Houston Yates looked like one of the tougher matchups of to call, just about everyone outside of Liberty Hill, TX figured that Decatur would play the winner for a state title. After all, the Eagles 20-pieced Liberty Hill at the Whataburger Tournament in December, why should this outcome be any different?

But at the Alamodome it's a proven fact of life that the rim shrinks at inopportune times and shots that normally rattle home wind up as defensive boards. Liberty Hill trailed by 16 in the third quarter and 11 going to the 4th. Decatur had plenty of good looks to seal the deal, but those shots that have fallen all year long for a 37-win team popped out. Liberty Hill cut Decatur's lead to 3 at the 3:00 mark, and for the next 2:59 or so the only points scored came from a pair of technical free throws against Decatur. Missed layups and 2 front ends of 1-and-1's missed hurt the Eagles, but Decatur looked like surviving until the ball was swung to Parker McCurdy with approximately a second left on the wing... You can see the rest in the video below.

The other semifinal featured a raucous, up and down game where the youthful talent of Faith Family Academy pushed through the offensive juggernaut that is Houston Yates, 80-74. Freshman Trae Clayton had the performance of the tournament so far, pouring in 35 points on 16-21 shooting to go with 14 boards and 5 steals. Yates' pressing style made life tough for the Eagles early, but they responded well and got almost all of their point in/or around the paint, making 1 of the only 2 threes they attempted. Fellow FFA frosh Jordan Walsh came up with 11 to go with senior guard Rakeim Gary serving as a key to breaking Yates' press and scoring 12 for his trouble.

Yates got an inspired game from JoQuarius Valrie as he put up 27 on the back of a 5-9 night from behind the arc. Antwon Norman and Rubin Jones came up with 12 a piece as Yates led for most of the game but went cold at the worst possible time.

Top-ranked Duncanville looked a shadow of their normal selves for a half. Shots weren't falling like they normally do, Jahmius Ramsey battled foul trouble and streaky shooting, and North Shore always had an answer for any momentum; and actually led 26-21 at the break. But David Peavy rallied the troops in the locker room and Duncanville came out with an uptick in intensity to regain the lead in the late 3rd, holding NS at bay for the rest of the game to win 63-56.

Ramsey managed 4 points in the first half, but got 12 after the break as Duncanville used a full-court press, as they have in second halves throughout the playoffs, to good effect to swing the game their way. Micah Peavy's length gave North Shore fits as he was able to finish at the rim through traffic to get a team-leading 18, and Ja'Bryant Hill showcased some nice open court play to score 13.

Bruce Scott was a key reason for North Shore's halftime lead, and he finished with 19 points to lead all scorers including 3 makes from deep. But once Duncanville regained the lead it seemed a foregone conclusion they would close it out, and there would be no hail mary miracle in this meeting of the two schools.

Most of the media assembled had Klein Forest nailed on to face Duncanville in the 6A title game, so it came to the shock of many when Cibolo Steele led the Eagles by a dime at the half. The fire and execution that helped KF defeat South Garland and Rockwall in the regional tournament was lacking, and Langston Love looked the part of a top-5 player in the Texas 2021 class. Kwabena Davis and Alijah Comithier both looked strong in transition while Forest's players couldn't get in rhythm on the offensive end, and the Knights held a 40-30 advantage at the break.

But whatever Cary Black said at halftime must have worked, as KF won the 3rd quarter 19-7 and never looked back. Calvin Solomon was electric and scored in every which way inside the arc, with partner in crime Kharee McDaniel using his pull-up to great effect. The pair went for 24 and 21 respectively, while Corin Robinson provided some timely scoring with 11.

For Steele, Love ended his sophomore campaign with a 23 point night with Davis chipping in 12. They were held to a mere 20 points in the second half while Klein Forest turned up with 39 to win 69-60.