San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Young Bears push powerhouse to brink
With frowns etched on their faces, it wasn’t the right time for the Brennan Bears to think about the future.
But Beaumont United coach David Green Jr. saw that potential first hand Friday.
“Their time is coming,” Green said after his nationally ranked Timberwolves escaped with a 70-68 victory against the Bears in a Class 6A state semifinal Friday night at the Alamodome.
The Bears nearly pulled off the shocker, but sophomore Camden Cowgill misfired on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The state-tournament stage was not too big for the Bears, who had four freshmen and three sophomores among their nine players who logged minutes Friday.
“They didn’t waiver; they weren’t intimidated,” Green said. “They went after us. I’ve gotta give them kudos for that.”
Green and United know about winning state championships. Four players who helped the Timberwolves secure a 5A state championships in 2022 took the floor Friday against the rambunctious Bears overflowing with youth and talent.
Could the young Bears compete with a team that had won two straight 5A state crowns and was No. 18 in USA Today’s national rankings?
Yes, they could.
And yes, they did.
The most notable was 6foot-6 freshman forward Isaiah Ward, who had 26 points and 14 rebounds.
Sophomore point guard Kingston Flemings had 14 points and sank a stepback 3-pointer with 30.9 seconds left that pulled the Bears to within 69-68.
Flemings then got a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass, setting up a chance for a win.
The Bears then turned the ball over.
United pushed the score to 70-68 with 14 seconds left following the first of two free throws from Washington signee Wesley Yates. Flemings secured a rebound when Yates missed the second try, and that set up another chance with 3.5 seconds left after the Bears’ had possession following a jump ball.
Cowgill inbounded a pass into the paint to senior forward Robert Jackson, who dished it back to Cowgill, whose shot went long.
“It wasn’t the last play that lost us the game,” Ward said. “We had a couple of plays down the stretch. We couldn’t get our hands on a rebound. The whole game, we made some mistakes early, and it kind of put us down.”
The Bears never led and fell behind by as many as 16 points in the third quarter. They battled back with their youngsters making big-time shots.
“They’re obviously young kids, and they’re gritty kids and resilient kids as they showed today,” Brennan coach Koty Cowgill said. “That’s why we played our early (challenging) schedule. It gave us a lot of these same looks and opportunities to test our mettle and see how (we) respond in moments like that. I was proud of the way we responded. I hate that it ends tonight.”
Freshman Donovan Criss made a pair of 3pointers, Flemings made one and freshman Talon Todd’s trey with 1:29 in the third quarter brought the Bears to within 48-44.
But United created separation with a 3-pointer from Yates and a threepoint play from Kayde Dotson, whose free throw put the Timberwolves in the lead, 54-44 with 44.8 seconds in the third.
The Timberwolves led 40-26 with 5:06 in the fourth before the Bears made a final push that led to the dramatic finish.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way we battled in the second half,” Cowgill said. “We competed and we gave ourselves lots of chances to get over the hump and we couldn’t make that last play to kill it.”
Criss finished with 10 points and made 3 of 6 shots from the arc. Jackson, the Bears’ elder statesman as the team’s only senior who played regularly during the season, had 12 rebounds and six points.
Three freshmen — Ward, Criss and Todd — combined for 41 points. Three sophomores — Flemings, Cowgill and JaVonte Johnson — had 21 points.
“They are going to be doing great things moving forward,” Jackson said. “I expect them to be back here next year and the following year.”
It took 10 years for the Bears to return to the state tournament. There is no reason to believe it will take that long again.
“It was our first time here, and of course, there were nerves and all that,” Flemings said. “We brought it back with a great second half. Next year, when we we’re back, it’s not going to be the same.”