Fort Worth Christian boys come up short in bid for first basketball state title

The Fort Worth Christian boys basketball team couldn’t have picked a worse time for a slow start to a game.

Facing the defending state champions in No. 2 The Woodlands Christian, the Cardinals hit three of their first four shots, but couldn’t buy a bucket the rest of the first half.

The poor shooting and a stellar performance from TWC guard Austin Benigni doomed No. 3 Fort Worth Christian in a 60-47 loss to the Warriors in the TAPPS Class 5A title game on Friday night at College Station High School.

“The Woodlands came out strong and we were kind of taken aback for a second and were kind of getting our sea legs under us,” said Fort Worth Christian coach Stephen Mawire. “We finally kind of got it, but they were a real good team today and my hats off to them.”

The Woodlands Christian (25-5) defended its title and has won state three times in the past four years. The Warriors have won seven TAPPS championships starting in 2008.

A basket by Alexander Zambie and a pair of three pointers by Courtland Barbarin and Alex Bossinakis gave Fort Worth Christian (24-10) an 8-6 lead with 5:09 left in the first quarter.

But with FWC unable to get the ball inside to Zambie consistently and the Cardinals going 3 of 19 (16%) from the floor the rest of the first half, Fort Worth Christian found itself down 29-15 at the break.

The Cardinals didn’t score for a 6 minute and 27 second stretch spanning the first and second quarters.

“It did really hurt us, but sometimes that’s how the game of basketball goes,” added Mawire, in his first year at Fort Worth Christian after spending four years with The Woodlands Christian. “I was proud of the guys, they fought really hard and never really gave up and just kept pushing.”

Benigni was a magician at point guard for the Warriors. The junior had a game-high 29 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

With Benigni directing the offense a trio of big men were keeping Zambie at bay. Cedric Cook, Jack Cole and Wyatt Boeker were able to hold Zambie to six points.

“They collapsed really, really well and kind of took us off balance,” said Mawire. “We haven’t had a team collapse that well on our big guy. He’s been pretty good all year, but we didn’t adjust quite fast enough.”

The Cardinals trailed by 23 at the 5:11 mark of the third quarter, but battled back. A basket by Bossinakis, who had 11 points and four assists, cut the lead to 40-28.

The Warriors regained a 17-point lead before FWC cut it to 10 with 4:36 left in the game. Three made free throws and a three pointer from Nathan Bledsoe, who led the Cardinals with 18 points, made it 49-39, but Fort Worth Christian would get no closer.

“We fought and pushed and almost had that three pointer that would have put it under 10,” said Mawire, whose team just missed cutting the lead even more on its next two possessions. “Two of them kind of went in and out on us, but sometimes that’s how basketball is.”

Mawire took over a program that hadn’t won a district title in 16 years and hadn’t been to a state title game since 1999. Both were accomplished this season although the Cardinals have yet to win a basketball state title.

“Two of my seniors, Joshua Lawson and Courtland Barbarin, didn’t get a lot of playing time last year,” added Mawire. “I’m a first year coach and they just bought in to the system and we wouldn’t have had the great success we’ve had without those two guys.

“And obviously Alex Zambie is a phenomenal player and he’s got a lot more basketball left in him and I was just blessed to get to coach him for a year.”

The future is bright for Fort Worth Christian as Mawire has two of his top three scorers returning in Bledsoe and Bossinakis, both juniors, and a couple of freshmen players he’s high on.

Bledsoe, Bossinakis and Zambie were named to the state all-tournament team.

“Tonight wasn’t our night, but I’m really proud to be a Fort Worth Christian Cardinal and happy for our guys to get to play in this big game,” said Mawire.

This story was originally published March 13, 2021 at 3:49 AM.