Cy Falls emerges as lone area team to ‘bring one back’

SAN ANTONIO — Even in the moment, coach Richard Flores knew the celebration was bigger than just Cypress Falls.

Sure, there was green and gold everywhere. There was a state championship trophy. There were tears of joy.

The Eagles were champions, holding off San Antonio Wagner 63-57 late Saturday night in the Class 6A title game.

They also saved the day — and the final two weekends — for the Houston area. The area hadn’t won a University Interscholastic League state title since 2014, losing four championship games the two years after.

“This is something for everybody,” junior guard Trajan Wesley said. “We were real determined and knew what the goal was.”

Sweep on the horizon

The city lost two state contenders (Klein Forest and Yates) March 4 in their respective regional finals. It lost La Marque the day before in the region semifinals, keeping the Cougars from a third straight state tournament trip.

Three Houston teams advanced and all three (Cy Falls, Fort Bend Marshall and Brazosport) reached the final day of the season.

But a sweep of the top Houston teams looked inevitable after one quarter of the Cy Falls-Wagner finale. Wagner’s 6-9 Tristan Clark, a Baylor signee, nearly outscored the Eagles by himself in the first eight minutes, and the Thunderbirds were in control.

This came after Marshall lost a 10-point halftime lead to Mansfield Timberview, which put the Buffalos away in the 5A championship game with a 19-2 run in the third quarter. The Buffs lost 74-66 in their first state appearance.

In the 4A final, Silsbee’s full-court, physical defensive pressure wore down Brazosport. Silsbee won 89-83.

“This team was good enough to win a state championship,” Brazosport coach Ondra Waddy said. “Silsbee is a very good team, and we were really close to finishing the job.”

Last team standing

After eight minutes, Wagner looked “really close” as well.

Then Flores countered with 6-7 Maitlond Wanza, a senior who didn’t play in the semifinals, and 6-4 Justin Skopal, who played one minute, giving Cy Falls size to bother Clark underneath. The Eagles also focused a second defender on the Clark, who finished with 18 points after scoring 10 in the first quarter.

Cy Falls outscored Wagner 12-4 in the second quarter, forcing four turnovers. In the third, the Thunderbirds had a three-minute scoreless stretch.

From there, the Eagles, who started five juniors, were able to close it out.

“Just getting out of the city of Houston is tough enough as it is,” Flores said. “I was just glad that we could represent Houston and bring one back.”