Brock advances to second consecutive Class 2A state final

By Jarret Johnson

jmjohnson@star-telegram.com

AUSTIN — Brock set up a rematch of last season’s Class 2A state championhsip game by defeating Idalou 56-51 Friday morning at the Erwin Center.

The Eagles (32-6) take on defending state champ White Oak (36-1) in the final at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

“When you lose a state championship to a team and you know they have the potential to go back and we have the potential to go back, obviously it’s always in the back of your mind,” said Brock senior guard Dylan Carrigan, who scored nine points. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. We know they’re going to bring it and we’re definitely going to bring it.”

The rematch looked in doubt early as Idalou (34-4) built a 25-19 lead by halftime due to a 26-13 rebounding advantage by the break.

“That was the main concern of ours at the half, that they were dominating the glass,” Brock coach Jeff Bell said. “We did do a better job of rebounding in the second half, but we didn’t do anything different, I just felt like we executed better.”

Brock exectued on both ends of the court better in the second half, especially down the stretch.

Brock senior forward Lane Southern broke a 39-39 tie on a corner 3-pointer with 4:44 left in the game. He added a convential 3-point play on the Eagles’ following possesion to give Brock a six point cushion midway through the fourth quarter.

Led by point guard Koal Houchin, who finished with a game-high 21 points, Idalou scrapped back to within two points with under a minute remaining. But Brock sophomore guard Bailey Cockburn made a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left on the clock and forced a turnover on the ensuing defensive possession to give the ball back to the Eagles.

Senior guard Tre Ewell, who finished with a team-high 16 points, calmly sunk four free throws over the final seven seconds to secure the win.

“That’s Brock. That’s what changed in the second half,” Idalou coach Tyler Helms said. “We knew they were going to make a run and we were hoping we would be able to make enough plays to withstand it and we weren’t able to make enough plays.”

Jarret Johnson, 817-390-7760

Twitter: @JohnsonJarret

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