30 years after the most devastating loss in school history when 2nd-ranked Plano East lost to eventual state champion Tyler John Tyler 48-44 in 1994, spoiling the greatest football comeback ever …
https://youtu.be/ZHkABO0VwCg?si=WCNYbeoz9eLEMEAE
Finally, Plano East has a State Champion! A 40-0 perfect basketball season!
The first state championship in any sport in school history was executed much like the other 39 wins this season. The Panthers play suffocating team defense and execute nearly flawlessly on offense. The bulk of the team has played together since grade school in Plano, and it showed in a 53-41 win over Round Rock Stony Point in the Class 6A State Championship game at the Alamodome on Saturday night.
Junior D. J. Hall, the only player on the team with a D1 scholarship offer, scored 18 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Jordan Mizell added 8 points and 8 boards, and 6-3 Senior Narit Chotikavanic is a name college coaches need to learn how to spell, and how to contact. He appears to be a heady player with athleticism and an all around game that translates to the next level.
DFW swept state titles in the 4 of the 6 classifications with #1 Lancaster dominating Killeen Ellison, 59-30, for the 5A title as 6-9 Dillon Battie, who will follow in his father Derrick’s footsteps at Temple and also wins state just like his dad did at South Oak Cliff three decades ago. Battie had 17 points and 19 rebounds and, at this rate, just might play 14 years in the NBA like his uncle Tony Battie did.
In Class 4A, Oak Cliff Faith & Family won its 3rd straight state title, 80-66, over Silsbee as Isaac Williams scored 32 points, connecting on all 14 of his field goal attempts.
Lipan won its 2nd straight Class 2A championship, 47-36, over Shelbyville as the coach’s son, Freshman Court Gaylor, scored 23 points, going 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.
The only area team to fall on Saturday was Class 3A Ponder, which had a 48-41 lead with 5 minutes left but was outscored 12-1 down the stretch and lost to Hitchcock, 53-49.
Here’s a recap of State Semifinal games in San Antonio:
6-5 Junior D. J. Hall led a balanced Plano East attack, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as the unbeaten, #1 ranked Panthers beat Mansfield Lake Ridge, 61-45, in the Class 6A State Semifinals Friday night at the Alamodome. PESH will try to complete a perfect 40-0 season in the 6A State Championship game Saturday night against 2nd-ranked Round Rock Stony Point (38-1), which features 6-6 Josiah Moseley, the #1 ranked Senior in Texas who signed with Villanova. Stony Point’s only loss of the season came against Plano East, 55-50, in the championship game of the Whataburger Tournament on December 30. The stakes are quite a bit higher in this championship game.
Plano East is one of five DFW teams who will play in state title games on Saturday. In Class 4A, Oak Cliff Faith Family is looking for its 3rd straight state championship while Class 2A Lipan advanced to the finals after surviving an overtime game against New Home, in which a potential game winning buzzer beater was overturned after a video review.
6-9 Senior Dillon Battie scored 13 points Thursday night as #1 ranked Lancaster pulled away in the 4th quarter to defeat #5 Amarillo, 44-31, and advance to the Class 5A State Championship Game to be played Saturday afternoon in San Antonio against #10 Killeen Ellison. Battie, who will follow in his father Derrick Battie’s footsteps and play college basketball at Temple University, now tries to duplicate what his dad did at South Oak Cliff more than 3 decades ago — win a state championship. Dillon Battie’s uncle, Tony Battie, also played at SOC before starring at Texas Tech and playing 14 years in the NBA.
Class 3A Ponder advances to its 1st state title game in 10 years by defeating Holliday, 62-46, Thursday afternoon.
Top-ranked Plano East (38-0) tries to keep its perfect season going on Friday night in the Class 6A State Semifinals against Mansfield Lake Ridge. In Class 4A, #1 ranked Oak Cliff Faith Family plays its semifinal game Friday afternoon against Stafford. The Friday schedule tips off at 8:30am when 2nd-ranked Lipan meets New Home in a Class 2A semifinal.
Boys High School Basketball
STATE FINALS
Class 6A
#1 Plano East (40-0) 53, #2 Round Rock Stony Point (38-2) 41
🏀PESH: D. J. Hall 18 Stony Point: Josiah Moseley (Villanova) 18🏀
Class 5A
#1 Lancaster (30-5) 59, 10 Killeen Ellison (35-6) 30
🏀Lancaster: Dillon Battie 17 points, 19 rebounds🏀
Class 4A
#1 Oak Cliff Faith Family (25-11) 80, #6 Silsbee (29-10) 66
🏀F&F: Isaac Williams 32, Doryan Onwuchekwa 19 points, 14 rebounds🏀
Class 3A
#1 Hitchcock (34-3) 53, #6 Ponder (37-7) 49
🏀Ponder: Max Hutcherson 19🏀
Class 2A
#2 Lipan (36-4) 47, #13 Shelbyville (29-8) 36
🏀Lipan: Court Gaylor 23🏀
Class 1A
#2 Jayton (38-3) 60, #3 Benjamin (24-2) 53
STATE SEMIFINALS
Class 6A
#1 Plano East (39-0) 61, #14 Mansfield Lake Ridge (32-7) 45
🏀PESH: D. J. Hall 15, Jordan Mizell 13, Lake Ridge: Amir McMillian 18🏀
#2 Round Rock Stony Point (38-1) 54, #9 Beaumont United (34-4) 46
🏀Stony Point: Josiah Moseley 19, Uzziah Buntyn 19🏀
Class 5A
#10 Killeen Ellison (35-5) 59, #2 San Antonio Veterans Memorial (40-2) 47
#1 Lancaster (29-5) 44, #5 Amarillo (33-5) 31
🏀Lancaster: Dillon Battie 13, Deontrell Barrett 13🏀
Class 4A
#6 Silsbee (29-9) 75, #3 Canyon Randall (34-4) 68
#1 Oak Cliff Faith Family (24-11) 59, #11 Stafford (25-7) 40
🏀Faith Family: Isaac Williams 19, Jazz Henderson 13🏀
Class 3A
#6 Ponder (37-6) 62, #8 Holliday (34-3) 46
🏀Ponder: Carter Eddy 18, Max Hutcherson 15🏀
#1 Hitchcock (33-3) 57, #3 San Antonio Cole (32-10) 40
Class 2A
#2 Lipan (35-4) 40, #17 New Home (31-8) 39 (OT)
🏀Lipan: Court Gaylor 27🏀
#13 Shelbyville (28-8) 67, Thrall (30-6) 52
Class 1A
#3 Benjamin (24-1) 75, #8 Gordon (21-7) 58
#2 Jayton (37-3) 65, #12 Fayetteville (32-6) 26