Game of the year? Defending champ Duncanville outlasts resurgent Grand Prairie in OT
It’s been 16 years since Grand Prairie has reached the regional tournament in boys basketball. If the Gophers were going to snap their drought, this year’s team was good enough to do it.
But waiting on the other end was defending state champ Duncanville, the top-ranked team in the state.
The Gophers, No. 10 in the state, looked well on their way to a regional berth with a lead as big as 11 points. However, the Panthers made sure this wasn’t the final game for their seniors.
Duncanville clawed its way back to force overtime, then with the game tied, senior guard Ja’Bryant Hill drained the first of two free-throw attempts with 3.8 seconds left in the extra frame.
Grand Prairie rebounded his second attempt and its 30-foot 3-pointer bounced off the top of the back-board and hit the floor, sending the Panthers to a 66-65 victory on Tuesday at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center.
“We got on Ja’Bryant in the first half, but he stepped up and was big for us in the second half,” Duncanville coach David Peavy said. “He made sure this wasn’t his last game. Very proud of him. He’s a true winner.”
The Panthers (29-3) will head back to Wilkerson for a semifinal game against Arlington Bowie, which beat Wolfforth Frenship, on Friday at 6 pm. Odessa Permian (31-3) faces Richardson (35-3) at 8 pm in the second semifinal.
“Next time we’ll have to play a little better. We missed a lot of easy shots,” Peavy said. “Micah [Peavy] has been sick and out the last four days so his timing was off, but he battled and everyone made big plays down the stretch.”
Savion Red gave GP a 60-58 lead to start OT, but Duncanville went in front 62-60 when 4-star Texas Tech bound forward Micah Peavy got an offensive putback then found CJ Ford for a layup.
Robert Banks’ 2-pointer extended the Panther lead to 64-61, but GP tied it on the ensuing possession on a Jaylin Posey trey. With under a minute left, Donald Ghostone made 1 of 2 at the line to give the Gophers a 65-64 edge.
Hill, who drained key free throws in the closing seconds to help Duncanville beat Klein Forest in last year’s 6A final, tied the game at the line with 25 seconds left.
“Had to bring it home for my teammates so we could get to the next round,” said Hill, who scored 11 points. “The first half was on me. I played like trash. We had to play to win and attack the rim.”
GP came out on fire when it closed the first quarter with a 10-2 run that gave the Gophers a 19-9 lead. The Panthers answered with an 11-1 run to tie the game at 20 on a Juan Reyna three with 3:59 in the second quarter.
But the Gophers again closed out the quarter strong with the next nine points and 12 of 14 to grab a 32-22 lead at intermission. A Posey 3-pointer made it 25-20 and Ghostone scored the Gophers’ final five.
“I felt like the first half we were out there playing not to lose instead of going out and taking the game,” Peavy said. “We were very hesitant, which is unlike us. I thought our depth and conditioning would wear them out. We just didn’t push the tempo enough in the first half.”
Grand Prairie led 35-24 early in the third on a Posey three, but Duncanville pulled within six entering the final period.
Banks cut it to four and Hill drained a trey from the left wing to give the Panthers a 49-48 edge with 5:50 remaining, their first lead since 4-2. Reyna recorded a steal and layup to give Duncanville a 3-point lead with 4:14 left. Damon Nicholas’ free throw made it 55-51.
Posey made GP’s next three baskets as the Gophers led 57-56 with 1:44 to go. After a traveling call on Duncanville on the next possession, Ghostone hit 1 of 2 at the line for a 58-56 lead.
But the Panthers tied it up at 58 on Nicholas’ offensive putback with 1:02 left.
For the resurgent Gophers, they finish 27-3 with their best playoff run since 2004. They finished as district champs from 7-6A, known as the ‘District of Doom.’ They were led by Posey (28 points) and Ghostone (19). Ghostone and Donovan Newton had a team-high six rebounds each.
Duncanville was led by Peavy’s 17 points and 13 rebounds. Reyna added 14 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Banks chipped in eight and six.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 9:04 PM.
