The Cooldown: Week 21
We’re officially down to the end of the regular season. Girls playoff action tips off tonight, while the boys wrap up district play tonight before playoffs tip off a week from today. It’s a five week sprint to the end of the season from here.
With a short week for the girls and plenty of impactful games for district races on the boys side, with this past week being the last full week of regular season games, let’s recap the best boys games before focusing on girls playoff action next week.
Grand Oaks puts a bow on the district championship
With one game left to play, Grand Oaks has all but wrapped up an outright district championship.
Technically, a College Park win and a Grand Oaks loss in the district finale would tie the two at 13-3, and the two split the season series 1-1. However, Grand Oaks finishes district play against Caney Creek – a team who is 0-15 in district play. Grand Oaks beat Caney Creek 69-33 the first time around. So, barring a massive upset, Grand Oaks will be the outright champion in 13-6A.
To get to this point, the Grizzlies needed a win against Willis (third place in district play with a record of 12-4). Grand Oaks knew what was on the line, and they played like it, demolishing the Wildkats on the road, 67-55.
Morgan Luzey was on fire from the perimeter, shooting 7-of-11 from distance to lead Grand Oaks in scoring with 21 points to go with six rebounds. Trae Lewis also cashed in a few trays; he finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Ebube Joseph was also in double figures with 10 points and five rebounds.
Now, the pressure is off and Grand Oaks can focus on getting ready for what could be a lengthy playoff run. College Park will face New Caney (2-13 in district play) to wrap up district play, while Willis is already done. College Park and Willis will tie for second if New Caney can pull off the upset, but more than likely, the final district order will be Grand Oaks, College Park, Willis and Conroe. Those four are locked in as the playoff teams from 13-6A.
Seven Lakes handles rival Cinco Ranch to stay in the district title race
Seven Lakes had no struggles with Cinco Ranch, who has clinched a playoff spot and is in contention for the three-seed in 19-6A with a record of 10-5. The Spartans downed Cinco Ranch 74-45 over the weekend – pretty impressive considering the Spartans escaped with a two-point win in round one against Cinco.
Isaiah Santos took over in this game, racking up nearly half of Cinco’s point total by himself en route to the blowout win. Santos led the way in scoring for Seven Lakes with 21 points. Godtrace Ngoh had a great night scoring the ball as well, with 14 points and four made 3’s. Alex Teahen was also in double figures with 10 points.
With a district record of 14-2, Seven Lakes is pencils down, hands up with the regular season. With their fate out of their hands as it relates to a district championship, the Spartans will have to hope Katy Jordan (14-1 in district play) drops its regular season finale to Mayde Creek (7-8 in district play) in order to share the district championship. Seven Lakes and Jordan split the regular season series 1-1.
In any case, the four playoff teams have been decided. Jordan will finish first or tied for first. Seven Lakes will finish second or tied for first. Katy and Cinco Ranch, both 10-5 entering the regular season finale, will round out the playoff picture in 19-6A.
Atascocita wraps up another district title
It’s about time we talk about one of the perennially great teams in the area on this blog. Atascocita wrapped up another district championship last week with a thrilling 54-53 win against second place C.E. King.
The Eagles are now 13-0 in district play, while King sits at 11-2 — with both losses coming to Atascocita. Had the Panthers been able to pull off the upset, the two would’ve tied for the district championship, assuming they each win their final district game. Obviously, that task hasn’t been a problem for these two teams so far this season, as no other district team has beat them.
Jaylen Fenner led the way in scoring for Atascocita with 13 points. The Eagles had a balanced attack, with five players scoring within five points of each other. Cameron Ned was the only other Eagle in double figures with 10 points, while Jachai Cantave, Adam Boyd and Jonathan Kekeocha tallied eight points apiece.
Atascocita can go to so many different players to make an impact, which is part of what makes the Eagles (25-4, 13-0) so hard to beat. Fenner tallied 24 points and seven rebounds in the Eagles midweek 83-61 win against Goose Creek Memorial. Boyd racked up 12 points and a whopping 11 assists in that one. Jase Amaru poured in 12 points, all on 3-pointers.
Obviously, Atascocita is a program used to this type of output. It’s a program where district titles are the expectation rather than the exception. Still, that isn’t something to take for granted. Every blue blood type of program has a down year occasionally. This isn’t that type of year for Atascocita, who is geared up for another deep playoff run.
Players of the Week
My girls player-of-the-week is long overdue for some recognition this season. She’s been a POTW on this blog in previous seasons, as she’s been a household name in the Houston area for quite a while.
Ayla McDowell is the only Houstonian to be named as a McDonald’s All-American – boys included – for the class of 2025. She is one of two Texans (Aaliyah Chavez, Lubbock Monterey) to be a 2025 McDonald’s All-American. McDowell, a South Carolina signee, is averaging 24.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.1 steals per game this season, according to the University of South Carolina’s press release of McDowell’s AAG announcement. Cy Springs enters the playoffs at 27-3 (14-0) in large part due to McDowell.
“McD” is heading to the McD’s AAG. It isn’t over yet – a state championship is still in the cards – but congratulations to Ayla on a great career!
Iowa Colony picked up two big district wins last week – including a win over district champion Friendswood – to put itself in position to secure the second seed. The Pioneers will be the two seed with a win or a La Porte loss, and could still be the two seed after tiebreakers.
Iowa Colony beat Friendswood 76-68 in their midweek tilt before taking down Texas City 77-69 over the weekend. BJ Gill came up big for the Pioneers in both games, leading the team with 23 points in each game. Gill is my boys player-of-the-week!
Statewide Rankings
Here is the final edition of the statewide rankings for the regular season for the girls, and the next-to-last for the boys.
Here’s how the Houston area stacks up in the 6A statewide rankings: (4) Shadow Creek, (10) Atascocita, (11) Katy Jordan, (13) Seven Lakes, (16) C.E. King, (17) Cy Creek, (19) Travis and (25) Grand Oaks.
Class 5A features (2) Fort Bend Marshall, (22) Barbers Hill and (24) Friendswood. The class 4A rankings include (4) Stafford, (6) Booker T. Washington, (7) Yates, (8) Wheatley, (9) La Marque and (14) Huffman Hargrave. Hitchcock is the lone team ranked in class 3A at No. 3.
Here’s how the class 6A girls stack up in the statewide rankings: (3) Cy Springs, (8) Dawson, (9) Hightower, (14) Grand Oaks, (15) Pearland, (16) Dickinson, (17) Clear Brook and (23) C.E. King.
The class 5A rankings feature (17) Barbers Hill, (20) Spring Woods and (22) Fort Bend Marshall. Wheatley (No. 9) and Willowridge (No. 16) are ranked in class 4A, and Tidehaven (No. 12) and Hitchcock (No. 13) are ranked in class 3A.