Whataburger Tournament: Day 1 Game Recaps
After the UIL mandated 5-day dead period, high school hoops is back in the state of Texas. And what better way to restart the season than with the 60th annual Whataburger tournament, featuring 11 teams ranked in the top-10 in the 6A and 5A classifications. TexasHoops.com’s Lyndon Cook has all the latest coverage from the first day of the tournament.
SA Wagner 63 South Grand Prairie 61 F/OT
Kevin McCullar and Bryce Cook matched each other blow for blow all game long, with both junior prospects finishing with 30 points in a tight contest between the two 6A powers. But a late Jalen Jackson dime to Journee Phillips with less than 2 seconds to play in OT proved the difference in the game.
After a lackluster first half, Cook took over for SGP, at one point scoring 13 straight. A tough and-one from Jelen Hanspard gave the T-Birds the answer they needed and a 3-point lead with under a minute to play, though a clutch 3 from Karlyn Kenner with 5 seconds left hauled SGP back to force overtime. 6A No.4 Wagner will face top ranked Denton Guyer in the quarterfinals, while SGP will get Richardson Pearce.
Spring Dekaney 84 Arlington Bowie 37
The No.5 team in 6A Spring Dekaney made quick work of a depleted Arlington Bowie team, rolling in this one by a score of 84-37. The Wildcats forced plenty of turnovers and turned those into buckets, with Micah Peavy going for an easy 15 while his Mercer-bound brother DJ Peavy added 10. Texas football signee Malcolm Epps proved he could man the middle on the basketball court too, dominating the paint and scoring 15. For Bowie, the off-season loss of Kyler Edwards to Findlay Prep as well as Cade Cunningham missing the game due to injury was too much to overcome as they fell in a rout.
Mansfield Timberview 59 Katy Tompkins 58
Timberview came out flat against a hot shooting Tompkins team and fell behind 21-9 in the first half, before the play of Isaac Likekele sparked them into life and a come from behind win in the first round of the Whataburger. Likekele was fouled on the drive with 30 seconds to go and converted both free throws to give Timberview a 1-point lead, then deflected Jamal Bieniemy’s attempted game winner to seal the game. Bieniemy ended up scoring 25 for the Falcons, while Georgia Tech commit Kristian Sjolund scored all of his 15 in an impressive first half. Timberview collected yet another highly ranked scalp in their quest to repeat as 5A state champs, with Likekele scoring 19 and Rice-bound Chris Mullins chipping in with 12.
Desoto 69 South Garland 63 F/OT
Although South Garland’s roster contains two of the top 10 guards in the 2019 class, including No.1 ranked prospect Tyrese Maxey, Desoto’s team strength shone through in the extra period as they pulled off the 6-point upset. SG came out firing to take a double digit lead in the first quarter, but Desoto regrouped and locked down on defense to fight back to tie the game going into the fourth. Desoto took a 3-point lead with under 2 minutes to play, but a costly turnover was punished by a Chris Harris score that ended up sending the game to OT.
Desoto’s super frosh Duncan Powell came off the bench to lead the Eagles with 17 points, performing well enough to keep SMU commits Feron Hunt and Jahmar Young on the bench in crunch time. RJ Mason continued to make his case as one of the state’s top unsigned senior guards. For South Garland, Maxey and Harris again dominated their team’s scoring load, combining to put up 38 in the loss.
Denton Guyer 91 Richardson Pearce 52
Denton Guyer remained undefeated on the year after running past Richardson Pearce for a 39-point win as they kicked off their attempt to repeat as Whataburger tournament champs. Jalen Wilson was dialed in from deep, hitting 4 threes in the first half on the way to a team high 20 points. Guyer’s JaKobe Coles started strong as he posted a 9 point first quarter to match Pearce key player Drew Timme’s total. Coles, along with teammates Grayson Carter and De’Vion Harmon would all end up with double digit points in the comfortable win for Guyer. Timme finished with a strong 27 for Pearce.
Waxahachie 69 North Crowley 52
After 3 even quarters, Waxahachie’s intense pressure and suffocating defense finally overpowered North Crowley as they held NC to 7 fourth quarter points and went on to win by 17. Larry Wise had a whale of a game, exploding for 32 points including 3 makes from deep. JT Warren also hit from behind the arc three times, going on to finish with 15. North Crowley’s normally electric scoring threat Grant Sherfield was kept relatively quiet by Waxahachie’s swarming defense, though the UCLA-commit still went for a team high 17.
Justin Northwest 79 Houston Sam Houston 74
The nightcap of Day 1’s slate of games did not disappoint, as an Avery Anderson led Northwest squad escaped with a 5 point win over Sam Houston. Anderson didn’t let a slow start bog him down, as after halftime he led Northwest’s comeback charge by hitting 4 consecutive 3-pointers to slice into Houston’s lead and finished off the win with a total of 33 points. Anderson’s counterpart, TCU commit Kendric Davis marshaled Sam Houston with a 31 point performance, before fouling out late as Northwest iced the game. UTA-signee Mason Hix battled through an ankle injury to add 22 points as the Texans advanced to the quarterfinals.