Bell boys basketball team’s comeback nearly got it into playoffs

One more basket, or one more defensive stand. Either would have highlighted the L.D. Bell boys basketball team’s comeback season with a return to the postseason.

Instead, rival Trinity made a last-second basket for a 56-55 victory that instead sent the Trojans to the playoffs and left the Raiders on the outside for a fifth straight year.

But while it ended in heartbreak, the Raiders’ season rejuvenated the program and got fans excited again. Coming off a 6-23 season that saw them go 1-11 in District 7-6A in 2014-15, Bell had nowhere to go but up.

And that’s where they went. They tied for fourth in district with Trinity, going 11-20 overall and 5-7 in the league, dropping perhaps the most thrilling game in the history of the rivalry. Neither team led by more than a handful of points the entire contest.

In the closing moments, with the ball going out of bounds, a Bell player attempted to keep it alive. But it hit the backboard and gave Trinity the opportunity it needed for the game-winning basket.

It was the third meeting between the teams after they split their district series. Bell won at home 64-63 and Trinity won at home 66-60.

“That’s pretty cool for the community,” said Bell coach Willie Henderson. “I don’t think that’s ever happened, and I grew up in the community.”

The district playoff was one of many close games for the Blue Raiders this season in which they finished 11-20. They were 7-12 in games decided by 10 points or less, but 5-6 when the game was decided by five points or less, including 3-2 against district foes.

“We could easily have been 20-11,” Henderson said. “And we were the only team to beat Coppell in district.”

Coppell finished 11-1 in District 7-6A, the lone setback 35-34 at home to the Raiders.

“I feel like our kids overachieved. We weren’t supposed to be in the hunt,” Henderson said. “We were outmatched in talent, but our kids played hard.

“I’m not disappointed at all. The kids played really hard.”

Henderson said that perhaps the Raiders’ biggest opponent all season was their basketball IQ.

“Most of them haven’t played basketball their whole life and they don’t understand situations really well,” he said.

“That was pretty much the story. We were competitive this year.”

Not so long ago the Raiders were in the playoffs for a fourth straight season (2011), a school record. However, now that seems like an eternity for the Bell faithful.

“What hurts is that you’d like for them to have experienced what it’s like in their career,” Henderson said of this season’s seven seniors. “They never got to be one of those special teams that made it to the postseason. You’d like for them to have that at least once.”

Four players will be expected to return next season, seniors-to-be Ondre Lacy (5-8 guard), Remon Toto (6-2 forward), Boston Billings (6-2 post) and Brendon Weatherspoon (6-4 post). It is the job of these players, along with the newcomers who will join them, to keep the program moving back in the right direction.

“We had really good crowds, a lot of people were hoping we could [get back to the playoffs],” Henderson said.

And they almost did. While they didn’t, the season ended in a very exciting fashion on their rival’s court, a decision made by a coin toss.

“It was a great atmosphere. Anytime it’s Bell-Trinity it’s going to be,” Henderson said. “I’ve never felt like there was a home court advantage between these two teams.

“We didn’t want to take the game out of the district [to a neutral site]. The fans deserved that.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 12:28 PM with the headline "Bell boys basketball team’s comeback nearly got it into playoffs."