Thorndale gets a second chance

— Ruben Briones declined to say that his basketball team will be returning to the scene of the crime.

A senior shooting guard for Thorndale, Briones said the Bulldogs don’t carry a grudge on the eve of their second straight appearance at the UIL state tournament. On Friday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Thorndale (27-9) faces Clarendon (30-2) in a Class 2A boys semifinal.

“Everything happens for a reason, so I’m not going to say we deserved to win that game last year,” Briones said diplomatically Wednesday after a team practice.

Briones was referering to the final seconds of the Bulldogs’ 47-46 loss to Canadian last March in a Class 2A semifinal. Video appeared to indicate that the Bulldogs’ Americo Vazquez and Bradley Betak were fouled on shots that could have given Thorndale the lead — and perhaps the victory.

Instead of sulking during the 125-mile bus ride home last year, Thorndale’s players took a different spin.