Brennan took tough road to Alamodome
Road weary from traveling to Duncanville twice for showcase games along with tournaments in Pasadena and Houston, Brennan was jelly-legged when they lost 61-29 to Westlake on Nov. 29.
“Nobody could hit a shot that game,” freshman guard Isaiah Ward said. “We just couldn’t get the ball to go into the basket.”
Here’s the brutal assessment: Brennan made just 12-of-49 shots from the field. No one reached double figures in scoring, an alarming statistic for a team that has four players who averaged at least 10.5 points per game. It was the Bears’ fourth loss in five games as part of a 4-7 start to the season.
It was a startling result against a team that defeated the Bears 68-56 in last year’s Region IV-6A final. With four returning starters and the arrival of Ward, a highly regarded freshman, the Bears were the favorites to win the region this year.
“The loss definitely stuck with us,” senior forward Robert Jackson said. “We had to learn from it. But it was most definitely a turning point. We didn’t let that loss go.”
The Bears responded to the Westlake loss by reeling off 18 wins in a row. Even though Warren halted that streak with a 76-70 victory on Feb. 2, the Bears (32-7) haven’t lost since, with nine straight wins heading
into their 6A state semifinal against Beaumont United (35-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at the Alamodome.
“We learned that not everything was going to be easy or handed to us,” Jackson said. “It was going to take the work and
the drive and the discipline to listen to our coaches.”
Much of that was trusting coach Koty Cowgill and his decision to run his team through the rigors of a schedule featuring some of the state’s best teams.
The Bears’ early losses were against Duncanville (73-65) and Humble Atascocita (53-33), Class 6A state-tournament qualifiers last season; Richardson (69-50), a 6A state semifinalist two years ago; Plano Spring Creek Academy, a college prep program with high school graduates; and Dallas Kimball, a 14time UIL state-tournament qualifier and six-time state champion that faced San Antonio Veterans Memorial in a 5A state semifinal on Thursday night.
“They put us in these schedules so we can see what we’ll have to play against to get to state,” said sophomore point guard Kingston Flemings, who leads the team in points (15.1), assists (5.3) and steals (2.1). “Losing games preseason doesn’t really matter. Obviously, we wanted to win. Right from the beginning, we trusted the coaches.”
Sophomore guard Camden Cowgill added: “Being on the road every week was kind of hard for us. We competed (well) except for maybe a couple of games. We knew it was preparing us for what we’re gonna do right now — getting ready to play these teams in the state tournament. We’ve seen teams like this before.”
United won the last two Class 5A state championships before getting realigned into Class 6A, and the Timberwolves are ranked No. 18 nationally by USA Today. They feature senior guard Wesley Yates (19.8 points), who is signed with Washington.
The Bears didn’t get a chance for another crack at Westlake after San Marcos knocked out the Chaparrals in Friday’s Region IV-6A semifinals.
That pitted San Marcos against Brennan in Saturday’s regional final. San Marcos, choosing to guard Cowgill and Talon Todd on the perimeter, left Flemings with open looks. He scored 31 points and made 6of-7 3-pointers (10-of-15 overall) in the Bears’ 82-54 victory against San Marcos.
“That’s Kingston,” Ward said. “He’s always had that in him, and it finally came out on one of the biggest stages we’ve played on.”
Friday’s stage will be the biggest yet as the Bears make their second appearance at the state tournament and the first in 10 years. The Bears lost against Kimball 64-52 in the 4A (now 5A) semifinals. Bears coach Koty Cowgill is making his third appearance. He coached Brennan’s girls team to back-to-back state tournaments in 2013 and 2014.
“It feels great knowing we are bringing glory back to the school,” Camden Cowgill said. “But we also know that the job’s not finished, and we have a potential two more games to do what we really want to do.”