The Cooldown: Week 19
Another week of high school hoops in Houston was defined by upsets, at least if you pay attention to the state rankings. Here’s a recap of some of those games, including two great showdowns between Katy Tompkins and Seven Lakes on the boys and girls side. Check out our player of the week and a look at which Houston-area teams are state ranked.
Clear Brook shuts down Dickinson
Clear Brook and Dickinson shared at least two things in common on Saturday: a top 10 state-wide ranking and a dream of winning the 24-6A title in a few weeks. Only one of those teams could take a big step toward that goal.
Dickinson entered as the higher ranked team, No. 5 in the state compared to a No. 9 ranking for Clear Brook, and had a 10-point halftime advantage as well. Clear Brook put a stop to that real fast. After Dickinson established a 36-26 lead at the half, Clear Brook held the Gators to less than half that amount in the second half. A 41-17 second half run gave the Wolverines a stunning 67-53 win.
It isn’t necessarily stunning that Clear Brook upset Dickinson. The Wolverines are fantastic in their own right even though Dickinson has tended to dominate the area for the past few seasons. What is stunning is that the Wolverines won in such convincing fashion; that they not only came back from a double-digit halftime deficit, but that they won by 14; outscored Dickinson by 24 in the second half while holding the Gators to just 17 points.
Clear Brook was led once again by the Millender brothers. Ke’Mauri finished with 18 points while Marcus tallied 14 points; Brodrick Johnson tacked on 12. Dickinson was led by Zyon Little with 16 points. While 24-6A should be ultra competitive top-to-bottom, these two are the class of the district and all eyes will be on them for the rematch that will likely decide the district title.
Shadow Creek romps Dawson for state-ranked upset
Despite entering the game with the better record, Shadow Creek found itself as an underdog according to the state rankings.
Dawson ranked No. 19 in the state while the Sharks clocked in at No. 21. Those numbers meant nothing to Shadow Creek. The Sharks dominated Dawson 60-42 to prove they’re once again the class of district 23-6A. For as good as 24-6A is, we could get some tasty playoff matchups because 23-6A is every bit as good. District 23-6A will match up with 24-6A in round one and teams playing on opposite ends of the bracket – aka Shadow Creek and Clear Brook – could still meet down the line in Region III. Fun to think about!
Shawn Jones was fantastic for the Sharks, pouring in 20 points. Cam Amboree tallied 17 and Bryce Jackson added 13 points as Shadow Creek took control of the district.
Seven Lakes boys and girls take down Tompkins
The Seven Lakes boys squad has been one of the best stories of the season so far. The Spartans rank No. 20 in the state, relatively out of nowhere. They handily beat a good Tompkins team 69-52 last week.
Tahaad Davis had his midrange game working all night to the tune of 16 points. Grant Van Hoozer also tallied 16 for Seven Lakes while AJ Bates chipped in 14 and Ethan Van Horn added 13 points. Jason Clark led the way for Tompkins with 14 points. Seven Lakes did a relatively good job of shutting down outstanding Tompkins guard Luke Coughran, who scored 10 points.
Seven Lakes looks to be the class of Katy so far, but it’s the Spartan girls who made the biggest waves last week.
The Lady Spartans also played Tompkins, but the difference is the Lady Falcons entered the game with a No. 2 state ranking. After the game, it was the No. 23 Lady Spartans that looked like the second-ranked team in the state.
Seven Lakes dropped a 74-52 shellacking on a team that has real state title aspirations. Sophomore Justice Carlton nearly outscored the second ranked Lady Falcons by herself, totaling 40 points. Carlton’s 40-burger ended Tompkins’ 30-game district win streak and put the state on notice.
Tompkins will have plenty of time to prepare for round two – and figure out how to slow down Carlton – but Seven Lakes established itself as a serious state title contender over the weekend.
Player of the Week
We’re going with two choices for player-of-the-week here and one of those should be fairly obvious. If dropping 40 points on the No. 2 team in the state in a huge win for your program isn’t enough to earn POTW honors, I don’t know what is. Justice Carlton is my player-of-the-week!
For boys POTW, I’m going with Shadow Creek’s Shawn Jones. His 20-point night helped secure an 18-point victory against a higher-ranked team. He’s part of the reason Shadow Creek is now in the drivers’ seat for a 23-6A title and why the Sharks will no longer be ranked behind Dawson.
State-wide Rankings
Here are what the state-wide rankings look like each classification, updated on January 3.
In 6A, Westfield picked up two convincing wins to remain No. 3. The Mustangs are followed by Dickinson (5), Elkins (6), Cy Falls (7), Clear Brook (9), Atascocita (11), Dawson (17), Shadow Creek (19) and Seven Lakes (20). Obviously there will be some major movement when the new set of rankings are released this week. Dickinson will move down, Clear Brook will move up, Shadow Creek will move up and Dawson might fall out all together.
In 5A, Crosby remains No. 5 followed by Katy Paetow (7), Fort Bend Marshall (11), Hightower (12) and Goose Creek Memorial (17). Fellow Region III rival Beaumont United remains No. 2.
In 4A, Houston Washington remains No. 4, followed by Stafford (5), La Marque (7) and Brazosport (22). There are no ranked Houston-area teams below class 4A.