HS BASKETBALL
Updates from the boys ranks as the playoffs near.
‘Clicking’
1 College Park and prolific junior guard Quentin Grimes (left) aren’t done yet — but they’re not in the playoffs, either. The Cavaliers rebounded from their second loss to rival The Woodlands last week, beating Conroe 87-71 in their District 12-6A finale to tie Oak Ridge for fourth at 5-5. Grimes supplied 32 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in the win, forcing a play-in game with the War Eagles at 7 p.m. Friday for the district’s final postseason bid. Oak Ridge won its last two games on the road to keep its season alive, upsetting Luf in — which tied Conroe for second — 63-50 and then beating Montgomery 59-43. The two teams split their district series, with the Eagles winning 78-63 in the first round, despite 40 points from Grimes, and the Cavaliers taking the rematch 69-59 last week. “It’s clear the second half of district they’re a very different team,” Oak Ridge coach Neil Laminack said. “They’re clicking, they’re playing well together (and) you can tell they’ve got a lot of good chemistry … so they’re really peaking and coming on at the right time. It’s going to be a dogfight.”
Dominating in district
2 Klein Forest, Cypress Falls and Bush were the only Houston-area Class 6A teams to go undefeated in district. The Eagles are the lone team in all of 6A taking a spotless overall record into the playoffs, finishing the regular season at 30-0 overall and 14-0 in District 15-6A, making them the clear choice for the top spot in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches 6A state rankings. Cy Falls is the first Cy-Fair ISD team to go undefeated in district, finishing 13-0 in 17-6A, and Bush, which hasn’t lost since December, rolled to the 20-6A championship with a 14-0 record. The area’s other district champions are The Woodlands, Westfield, Sam Houston, Cinco Ranch, Atascocita, South Houston and Dickinson, who all won outright titles, and Pearland and Dawson, who tied for the 23-6A crown.
H-Town favorites in 5A
3 Madison was the last Houston area team without a district loss in
5A, though with Houston ISD teams finishing the regular season Wednesday, it still had to handle Northside again to cap a 16-0 run in 24-5A. Humble went 17-1 en route to the 21-5A championship, Brenham captured the 20-5A title with a 13-1 mark, Elkins ended up on top of 23-5A at 14-2, and Angleton defeated Victoria East on Tuesday to avoid a three-way tie for first in 27-5A, finishing 10-2. Beaumont Central and Port Arthur Memorial are 22-5A co-champs after splitting their district series and tying at 13-1 in district. 4 Here come the Rheas. New Caney Porter ended 21-5A play on an 11-game winning streak after adding twin towers Sean and Deion Rhea to their roster Jan. 10, sending in into the playoffs for the first time. The Spartans defeated Dayton 89-73 behind Deion Rhea’s 21 points and 15 rebounds to clinch the No. 2 seed with a 14-4 district record. They also handed district champion Humble its only district loss, winning 54-48 on Feb. 3, making them a serious contender in the Region III-5A bracket. 5 Cinco Ranch, Tompkins and Strake Jesuit split their season series and entered their district finales in a three-way tie for first in 19-6A, with the very real possibility of staying that way. But Morton Ranch messed with Tompkins’ plans, winning 81-71 behind 27 points from L.J. Cryer, and Seven Lakes played spoiler against Strake, prevailing 56-54, leaving the Cougars as the outright district champs after a 59-46 win over Katy. 6 Cy Falls ruled 176A, making Cy-Fair ISD history with an undefeated district title, but Cy Creek made history, too, securing its first postseason berth in seven years with a 7551 win over Langham Creek. The Cougars (23-9, 10-3) ended the regular season on a fivegame winning streak, giving them a No. 2 playoff seed. Cy Springs and Cy-Fair tied for third at 9-4. 7 Friendswood and Clear Springs have a play-in game at 7 p.m. Friday at Dickinson for the last playoff spot in 24-6A. They tied for fourth at 6-8 — well behind the district’s other playoff qualifiers — and split their season series, with both winning on the road. Friendswood took the first meeting 68-53 on Jan. 17 and Clear Springs won 67-64 on Jan. 10. 8 The second-ranked Chargers (29-3) continue their bid for a return to the state tournament, taking on a 24-win Bulldogs squad that ousted Beaumont West Brook on Monday. 9 Two-time state champ Cy-Fair looks for another upset against district champ Seven Lakes after knocking off higherseeded Bellaire 87-78 in overtime in the bi-district playoffs. 10 Bush (25-4), a backto-back regional finalist before dropping down to 5A the last two seasons, opens the 6A playoffs in a tough first-round matchup with Seven Lakes (24-8).
Jason McDaniel is a Texas Sports Nation contributor.