The Cooldown: Week 23
With the blink of an eye, we’re down to the final two weeks of basketball season, which will put a bow on year six of this blog. As they say, time flies when you’re having fun.
Speaking of fun, regional champions were crowned on the girls side, while the boys are on to round three after an action packed first week of the playoffs. On the girls side, Summer Creek (6A-I), Hightower (6A-II) and Barbers Hill (5A-II) will compete for the right to go to the state championship this week. Let’s recap, look ahead and name POTWs!
Grand Oaks preps for a regional semifinal test with a pair of playoff blowouts
With a final record of 29-8, and a district championship (14-2) in a pretty competitive district, Grand Oaks entered the playoffs with plenty of reason to make a run. With two wins of at least 18 points to open the playoffs, the Grizzlies have done exactly what was expected, at a minimum. The road is about to get much tougher, but let’s recap their pair of playoff games first.
One of the things that makes Grand Oaks a dangerous team is the ability to go to several different players for a bucket. Grand Oaks opened the playoffs with a 61-43 win against Nimitz, where three Grizzlies scored in double figures. Trae Lewis finished with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists; Mike Rosario tallied 12 points and seven rebounds and three assists; Morgan Luzey added 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Grizzlies had a trio of double figure scorers in a 78-36 win against Cy Woods, with two of those who were also in double figures in round one. Trae Lewis led the way again with 22 points and eight rebounds; Ebube Joseph racked up a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Morgan Luzey had 10 points as well. Jadyn Murray just missed joining that club with nine points and five rebounds.
Next up is the aforementioned tougher road. Grand Oaks, who finished the season ranked No. 23 in the state, will travel up Interstate 45 to Fairfield for a game against No. 6 Duncanville. An upset win would sent the Grizzlies to a matchup with the winner of the Aldine-Rockwall game in the regional finals. Both Aldine and Rockwall are unranked.
Summer Creek gets hot at the right time
Despite finishing third in a good district 23-6A, Summer Creek has advanced to the regional semifinals with a pair of wins against pretty good teams.
First up was a match against a really good Clear Springs squad; the Bulldogs picked up a 65-59 win in that one. Then on Friday, Summer Creek got past Ridge Point, 73-63.
The Bulldogs were able to take down Clear Springs behind four players who finished in double figures – similar to Grand Oaks, Summer Creek shares the ball and has a lot of options to go to for a bucket. Demorae Pritchett led the way with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists. Chazz Dubois racked up a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Reggie Rideau did a little bit of everything, finishing with 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Damond Matthews chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds.
Next up is a tilt with a similar kind of team. Bellaire has had a solid squad all season, but sit a little outside the statewide top 25 rankings. The winner of this game, however, gets the winner of what is sure to be a heavyweight showdown – and maybe the best game in the area this week – between No. 7 Atascocita and No. 13 Seven Lakes – in the regional finals.
Hightower advances to the state semifinals
Once again, The Sisterhood stands on top of Region III.
Though the state tournament isn’t quite a thing anymore, now with split divisions, Hightower advanced to the state semifinals – with a 61-47 win against Alief Taylor – for the fourth time in program history, and for the first time since 2019. Hightower will face Region IV champion San Antonio Churchill on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Victoria West High School with a trip to the Alamodome for the state championship game on the line.
Three Lady Hurricanes finished in double figures in the win. Sydney Thomas and Kimora Denkins poured in 14 points apiece to lead the way, while Chandler Caver chipped in 11 points. Denkins got her 14 points without missing a shot – she was 4-of-4 from 3-point range and 2-of-2 at the free throw line. Ogechi Okeke also had a notable night, nearly with a double-double. She finished with nine points and 12 rebounds.
Hightower finished No. 9 in the final TABC statewide top 25, while Churchill finished No. 19. This should be a fairly evenly matched game, though Hightower has a slight edge if the TABC rankings are to be believed.
Willis wins a thriller against Cy Springs
Region II of the 6A-II bracket is one of the most winnable brackets the Houston area will see in Region II of any major sport.
Houston and the southern part of the DFW metroplex share the Region II bracket, and the Dallas side usually reigns supreme. Duncanville and DeSoto dominate in football, Lancaster just defeated Cy Springs in girls hoops, and the list goes on. There is a good chance the buck could stop with Willis or College Park.
First, to advance to round three, Willis won a thriller against Cy Springs, 55-47. SJ Young and Tyshon Mixon tied for the Willis team-high in points with 15 apiece; Young also had a whopping 17 rebounds. Jackson Day also finished in double figures with 10 points. The Wildkats were great on the defensive end, holding Cy Springs under 50 points. Cy Springs had just one player in double figures – Ife Bolaji scored 14 points – with most of that damage coming in the first half. Royal Mayfield tacked on nine points for the Panthers.
Next up is a date with Mesquite Horn (19-14) who finished No. 21 in the final TABC 6A rankings. Willis was likely in consideration for one of those final spots in the state rankings, so these two teams are likely about the same talent level. For context, Cy Springs finished the season ranked No. 24.
Should Willis get the (small) upset, the Wildkats will face the winner of two similarly good but unranked teams in the regional finals in College Park or Wylie East. Obviously I know more about College Park and Willis than I do Horn and Wylie East, but I like the chances for a Houston area team to advance out of Region II.
Girls Player of the Week
As the team representing Houston in the final four for the state’s largest classification, I thought it would be fitting to give POTW to an outstanding performer from Summer Creek. The Lady Bulldogs weren’t ranked in the final TABC statewide top 25, but that didn’t stop them from beating No. 8 Dawson convincingly, 58-42, to earn a trip to the state semifinals.
Kennedy Simpson put on a show in the win, scoring nearly half of Dawson’s total. Her 20 points, six rebounds and five steals helped lift Summer Creek to an upset win, a Region III championship, and kept the Lady Bulldogs state championship hopes alive. For that, Simpson is my girls player-of-the-week!
Boys Player of the Week
My boys player-of-the-week is long overdue for the recognition in my opinion, because he’s been outstanding all season for one of the best teams in the area.
Atascocita beat a good Dickinson squad 87-66 in round one, and Jaylen Fenner was named an outstanding performer by the team social media account, with 12 points. Fenner upped his game in the area round against a Travis team that had been playing really well, this time scoring a team-high 19 points to lead the Eagles to a regional semifinal date with No. 13 Seven Lakes. Though I only have stats for the points he scored, Fenner is a great rebounder and typically picks up a few steals per game as well. For his performances last week, Fenner is my boys player-of-the-week!