Clarendon’s Jmaury Davis looks to drive past a New Home defender during a Region I-2A Tournament semifinal game at the Texan Dome in Levelland on Friday night. [Autumn Bippert/ For Press Pass Sports]
Region I-4A
Canyon edges Argyle to reach I-4A final
Every year it seems as if a Canyon basketball team meets defending state champion Argyle in the Region I-4A semifinals at Lubbock Christian University and heartbreak ensues in a close game.
That pattern continued Friday evening. Only it wasn’t exactly the same teams and it certainly wasn’t the same result.
A week after Canyon’s girls suffered a late loss to Argyle for the second time in the last three years in the region semis, it was time for the boys teams from the two schools to square off. This time, it was Canyon who broke Argyle’s heart, as Kemper Jones had a huge second half and scored the go-ahead points to give No. 14 Canyon a 38-35 victory.
The win puts Canyon (29-5) in Saturday’s 5 p.m. region championship game against Wichita Falls Hirschi. If Canyon wins, it will send the Eagles to the state tournament for the first time since 1981, when they reached the state championship game.
Canyon has gotten quite comfortable with close games as of late. Tuesday night, Canyon got two free throws from Brooks Wagner with 3.2 seconds left for the winning points in a 54-52 win over Lubbock Estacado in the region quarterfinal.
This game was even tighter throughout, as neither team had anything close to a comfortable lead at any time. No. 9 Argyle dominated the second quarter to take a 21-20 lead at halftime.
But after that, Jones took over for Canyon in the second half. He kept his team in the game by scoring all of Canyon’s 11 points in the third quarter, after which the score was tied 31-31.
Defense took over in the fourth quarter, as Argyle (27-7) went scoreless for the first half of the quarter and Canyon went up 35-31. But Argyle came back to tie it 35-35 with 43 seconds left.
Canyon then answered when Jones hit a jumper with 10 seconds left to make it 37-35. That capped a night where Jones had a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds.
The biggest rebound for Jones came on Argyle’s ensuing possession, when he rebounded a miss with 1.9 seconds left. Parker Cunningham was fouled and made one of two free throws before a desperation heave by Argyle came nowhere close to the mark.
— Lee Passmore
Argyle 6 21 31 35
Canyon 11 20 31 38
A— Eli Valentino 11, Wayne Pritts 9. C— Kemper Jones 19, Parker Cunningham 8. Records: Argyle 27-7, Canyon 29-5.
Hereford falls to Hirschi
Hereford fell short of making it an all-Panhandle region final, as the Whitefaces couldn’t hold on to a narrow halftime and saw their offense stall in losing to No. 15 Wichita Falls Hirschi 48-35.
The Herd finished the season 19-15.
It looked like Hereford’s Cinderella playoff ride had a good chance of continuing into the region final. The Herd led 23-21 at halftime.
But Hirschi (27-6) put the defensive clamps on Hereford in the second half, taking a 33-28 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Huskies steadily pulled away from the Herd after that.
Hereford didn’t have a single scorer in double figures, as Alden Arias led the way with nine points. By contrast, Hirschi had three players in double figures, as Jamarion Carroll had a game-high 17 points, followed by Ernest Young with 12 and Jermaree Ingram with 11.
Another big difference was rebounding, as Hirschi more than doubled Hereford on the boards by a 37-18 margin.
— Lee Passmore
WF Hirschi 14 21 33 48
Hereford 11 23 28 35
WFH— Jamarion Carroll 17, Ernest Young 12, Jermaree Ingram 11. H— Alden Arias 9, Zevan Gonzales 6, Noah Brown 6. Records: Hirschi 27-6, Hereford 19-15.
Region I-2A
Clarendon keeps rolling
The No. 2-ranked Clarendon Broncos are back in the Region I-2A finals for a second straight season.
Clarendon used strong defense and a huge effort from junior Jmaury Davis to beat a very talented New Home squad 64-53 in a Region I-2A Tournament semifinal on Friday night at the Texan Dome on the campus of South Plains College.
The Broncos (28-2), the Class 2A defending state champions, now face Christoval (27-5) in the regional championship at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Leopards (31-5) pushed Clarendon in the first half behind solid shooting from Trey Evans in Reagan Fielder.
The Broncos led 27-21 at half, but starting turning up the tempo in the third quarter when Davis started his own personal highlight film with his first of four emphatic show stopping dunks giving Clarendon its first double-digit lead 36-26 at the 3:10 mark.
The Broncos raced the advantage to 48-33 before New Home chipped it back, 48-40, until Davis led a quick 4-0 run with another mesmerizing dunk that pushed Clarendon ahead 52-40 midway in the fourth.
Davis, a Texas Tech football commit, poured in 24 points to lead the way. Teammate Lyric Smith was all over the court grabbing rebounds, making steals, while adding 13 points.
New Home 12 21 29 53
Clarendon 11 27 40 64
NH— Trey Evans 17, Reagan Fielder 13. C— Davis 24, Lyric Smith 13, Herndon 10. Records: New Home 31-5; Clarendon 28-2.
Region I-1A
Texline tames Panthers
Texline is one game away from heading back to the UIL Boys state basketball tournament for a second straight year.
The defending Class 1A state champions pulled away from Whitharral in the second half for a convincing 68-39 victory in the Region I-1A Tournament semifinals at the Texan Dome on the campus of South Plains College in Levelland on Friday afternoon.
In unlikely fashion, the No. 1-ranked Tornadoes did not shoot the ball well from the perimeter, and it showed it in the first half with Texline taking a 31-20 lead into the break.
It was a different story in the second half. The Tornadoes defense tightened, and the offense was able to penetrate scoring the majority of points from inside the 3-point line. Texline took complete control after three quarters going up 47-34, before a dominating fourth quarter where they outscored Whitharral 21-5. Senior standout William Luther had 19 points, followed by Elias Espino with 18 and Noel Lozano’s 14 points.
Texline (32-3) advances to play Jayton (31-4) in the Region I-1A championship at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Whitharral 9 20 34 39
Texline 17 31 47 68
W— Shamadrick Weaver 8, Jeryn Ellard 8. T— Will Luther 19, Elias Espino 18, Noel Lozano 14, Angel Herrera 10. Records: Whitharral 28-8; Texline 32-3.
Cold shooting ends Wildorado’s historic run
Wildorado struggled shooting the basketball which doomed the Mustangs during a 40-18 loss to Jayton in a Region I-1A Tournament at the Texan Dome on the campus of South Plains College in Levelland on Friday afternoon.
The Mustangs, who were making their first ever appearance in the regional tournament, end a tremendous year at 28-8. The 28 wins are school-record in just four seasons as a program.
Jayton (31-4) moves on to the Region I-1A championship to face defending state champion Texline (32-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Wildorado had an early 6-5 lead midway through first before its first cold shooting snap. Jayton ended the first quarter on a 5-0 run, taking an 11-6 lead. In the second quarter, the Mustangs mustered two points falling behind 19-8 at halftime.
Wildorado caught small fire to open the third cutting the deficit 24-17, however, once again the Mustangs struggled shooting, going the final four minutes of the third quarter scoreless. Then putting up only 1-point in the fourth quarter.
Jayton’s Isaac King led all scorers with 12 points. Trey Mathews had seven for the Mustangs.
Jayton 11 19 30 40
Wildorado 6 8 17 18
J— Isaac King 12, Nathaniel Williams 9, Joel Williams 9. W— Trey Mathews 7, Luke Mason 4.
Records: Jayton 31-4. Wildorado 28-8.