Boys state semifinals: Lancaster’s defense dominates Amarillo plus more from Day 1

The 2024 UIL boys high school basketball state tournament is here.

Thursday’s games at the Alamodome in San Antonio included the Class 1A, Class 3A and Class 5A state semifinals. Check back here for updates, stats, recaps and more.

Lancaster narrowly defeats Amarillo in defensive affair

The Lancaster defense paved the way for the Tigers in a game where shots weren’t falling for either team.

No. 1 ranked Lancaster defeated Amarillo 44-31 in a Class 5A state semifinal at the Alamodome on Thursday, breaking the record for fewest points allowed in the history of the state tournament. The Amarillo Golden Sandstorms were abysmal from 3-point range, making one shot in 18 attempts.

Amarillo’s offense struggled for the entirety of the game, but so did Lancaster’s until the final 1:16 of the fourth quarter. The Tigers scored 12 points with six free throws in that span, pulling away and securing the win.

Lancaster (29-5) made its eighth state tournament appearance and will look to win its third state championship on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Killeen Ellison. The Tigers claimed back-to-back championships in the 2015 and 2016 seasons and are set to return to the grandest stage of Texas high school basketball.

Lancaster forced seven first quarter turnovers, setting the tone for a dominant defensive performance. The Tigers took a 6-2 lead into the second period, and both teams soon found a a brief offensive spark.

Amarillo, in the second quarter, attacked the paint while Lancaster converted mid range jump shots. It seemed as if the scoring would continue when the Tiger started to stall at half court. The Amarillo defense refused to press and Lancaster held the ball for over one minute and 30 seconds prior to taking a 13-8 lead into the half.

The third quarter saw Amarillo (34-5) go on a 8-0 run but a 3-pointer from Lancaster senior Mario Perry helped the Tigers keep a slim, 5-point lead heading into the final frame.

Lancaster 6-foot-7 senior Dillon Battie, a 247Sports three star prospect committed to Temple, scored a team high 13 points. He tallied nine points in the fourth quarter, securing his team’s spot in the Class 5A title game.

Killeen Ellison soars into Class 5A title game

Killeen Ellison and San Antonio Veterans Memorial were both shooting the lights out in the first quarter. The problem for the Patriots was that Ellison never let up.

The Eagles shot a whopping 55.3% (21-38) from the floor including eight of 12 from three-point range as Ellison took down Vets 59-47 in a Class 5A state semifinal on Thursday at the Alamodome.

Ellison (35-5), No. 10 in the final 5A state poll according to the TABC, advances to the title game where it will meet either No. 1 Lancaster (28-5) or No. 5 Amarillo (34-4) at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Ellison is making back to back appearances at state and its third overall. The Eagles lost to Kimball in the championship game in 2023 and was ousted by Converse Judson in the semifinals in 1993, when Fort Worth Dunbar took home the title.

The game was close in the first quarter, but when Veterans Memorial’s shooting cooled off Ellison’s didn’t. The Eagle shot 52.9% (9-17) from the floor in the first half, including 71.4% (5-7) from beyond the arc.

The result was that a four-point lead for Ellison at the end of the first quarter turned into a 14-point bulge by halftime, 29-15.

Ellison’s biggest lead (26 points) came with 4:54 left in the game on a Nasaun Parker layup, but Vets wasn’t done.

Damarion Dennis scored 12 of his team-high 19 points in the final five minutes to help the Patriots cut the lead down to 12 with 25 seconds left, but it wasn’t enough.

Ahziel McIver led Ellison with 23 points, including three of four from three-point range, and added five rebounds and five steals. Kris White had 14 points for the Eagles.

Jionte Jones had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Patriots.

Veterans Memorial (40-2) only had one previous loss which came in November to San Antonio Harlan 50-40. The Patriots had defeated Harlan by 12 points three days earlier.

Vets was also making back to back trips to the state tournament. The Patriots lost to eventual state champion Dallas Kimball in the semifinals last season.

Top-ranked Hitchcock pounds San Antonio Cole

Hitchcock got and early lead and just never let San Antonio Cole get back in the game as the Bulldogs downed Cole 57-40 in a Class 3A state semifinal on Thursday at the Alamodome.

Hitchcock (33-3), No. 1 in the final TABC 3A state poll, will try to defend its title from last season when it faces No. 6 Ponder (37-6) at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

The Bulldogs have now reached the tournament for the third consecutive season and is making their fifth appearance at state. Hitchcock lost to Cole in the semifinals in 2022 and to Argyle in the semis in 2004.

Brock beat the Bulldogs in the 2003 state title game.

No. 3 Cole struggled shooting in the first half, hitting only 19% (4-21) of its shots. Hitchcock on the other hand was pounding the ball inside scoring 20 of its 26 first-half points in the paint.

After Ajian Hasadinratana opened the game with a three for the Cougars, Hitchcock responded with a 10-0 run sparked by Elijah Sherwood and Damien McDaniel.

The Bulldogs kept the lead between six and nine points until late in the first half when a three by Sherwood gave Hitchcock its biggest lead of the first half at 26-14 with 43 seconds left before the intermission.

Hitchcock just wouldn’t let Cole back in the game after the break. The Cougars cut the lead to 11 (33-22) with 1:32 left in the third, but could get no closer.

The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 23 a couple of times in the fourth quarter. The final time came with two minutes left in the game when Sherwood hit a free throw to make it 55-32.

Sherwood finished with a game-high 20 points for Hitchcock. Sherwood had eight rebounds with Lloyd Jones III chipping in 17 points and 13 rebounds and McDaniel adding 11 points, six rebounds and five steals.

Hasadinratana led Cole with 16 points with Logan Beckstrom adding 12 points and Kenny Atunrase pulling down 10 rebounds for the Cougars.

Cole was 36-0 in 1989 on its way to the 3A title, led by Shaquille O’Neal. The Cougars only other title in ten trips now, came in 2021.

Cole has lost in the semifinals five times. The Bulldogs won in the semis in 2020, but the title game was canceled due to the Covid outbreak.

The Cougars lost to Dallas Madison in the 2022 championship.

Benjamin gets state started, knocks off Gordon

For the first time in program history, the Benjamin Mustangs are galloping to the boys basketball state championship.

No. 3 Benjamin defeated No. 8 Gordon 75-58, managing to get over the hump after being eliminated in the 2023 state semifinal by Graford. Benjamin will face Jayton (37-3) in the Class 1A state title game at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.

“The goal was to get to Saturday,” Benjamin head coach Aaron Kuehler said. “Now, our goal is to cut down the nets on Saturday. With this group its just just take things one game at a time, and they do great with it. You can’t ask for a better bunch of guys.”

Benjamin made its second state tournament appearance while Gordon made its first. Both schools won football state titles in 2024 with Gordon and Benjamin securing the Class 1A D1 title and Class 1A D2 title, respectively.

Benjamin (24-1) took an early 20-12 lead in the first quarter behind 14 points from junior Grayson Rigdon, who also accounted for 10 total touchdowns in the football state title game. Rigdon finished with a game high 32 points on 12 of 24 shooting to help secure a lead the Mustangs held from start to finish.

Senior Weston Weatherford was also a significant contributor from the field, scoring 20 points on only 12 shots.

“First of all, I want to thank God for everything he has done for me,” Weatherford said. “ ... It’s just really good to do that for my team. I’m just playing my part and my role.”

Benjamin’s defense was smothering, forcing the Longhorn offense to finish the contest shooting 37% from the field. The Longhorn’s made nine 3-pointers to prevent the game from getting blown open.

Benjamin dominated Gordon (21-7) in transition, tallying 24 fast break points while Gordon only managed to score one field goal in transition.

The Longhorns were led by sophomore Stryker Reed, who tallied 27 points and made four 3-pointers. Gordon is returning 12 of 14 players next season with only two seniors on the roster.

“It’s a dream come true,” sophomore guard Riley Reed said of Gordon’s first state tournament appearance. “A lot of hard work went into this moment.”

Jayton’s Sean Stanaland scorches Fayetteville

Fayetteville hadn’t been to the boys state basketball tournament since going back to back in 1942 and 1943...81 years ago.

The Lions had a tough draw against No. 2 Jayton in the 2024 Class 1A state semifinals and poor shooting early doomed Fayetteville as the Jaybirds dominated 65-26 on Thursday at the Alamodome.

Jayton (37-3) will face No. 3 Benjamin (24-1) in the 1A championship game at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Jaybirds lost in two overtimes to Graford in the title game last season.

This is Jayton’s fourth trip to state, losing to Slidell in the semifinals in 2020 just as Covid hit and the 1A championship game was not played. In 2019 Jayton lost to Slidell in the championship game.

It was too much Sean Stanaland for the Lions as Jayton’s star sophomore scored 18 of the Jaybirds’ first 20 points of the game. Stanaland finished with a game-high 32 points, outscoring No. 12 Fayetteville himself.

Jayton jumped out to a 9-0 lead behind Stanaland after Fayetteville missed on is first six field goal attempts and had two turnovers. The Lions’ first points came with 2:50 left in the first quarter on a pull-up jumper by Easton Jaeger.

Fayetteville (32-6) closed the game to three points a couple of times in the second quarter, the latter on a jumper by Mason Fenhaus with 6:53 left before halftime, but that was as close as the Lions would get. The Lions never led.

Stanaland quickly pushed the lead back to eight with a six-foot jumper in the lane and a three to make it 20-12 with 5:24 left in the second quarter. The Jaybirds had a 42-8 point advantage in the paint for the game.

But Fayetteville’s shooting woes allowed Jayton to pull away from that point. The Jaybirds led by seven (26-19) at the half, by 13 (36-23) at the end of the third quarter and Jayton outscored the Lions 29-3 in the fourth.

Stanaland added nine rebounds and seven assists for Jayton with Colt Gentry pulling down 11 rebounds, scoring nine points and dishing out four assists for the Jaybirds.

Jaeger led Fayetteville with 10 points and six rebounds.

Fayetteville lost in the Class B semifinals in 1943 and came up short against, you guessed it, Slidell in the 1942 championship game.

Ponder’s historic shooting downs Holliday

Ponder defeated Holliday 62-46 in a Class 3A state semifinal at the Alamodome, shooting 62% from the field. The Lions will play in their first state championship since the 2014 at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Fore more in depth coverage of the game, click here.

Ponder’s historic shooting downs Holliday, advances Lions to Class 3A state championship