Duncanville defends 6A boys basketball state title with late run against Austin Westlake
They don’t call Duncanville the “City of Champions” for nothing.
The Panthers righted the ship and secured the program’s second straight Class 6A boys basketball state title, 66-53, over Austin Westlake in the 6A final Saturday night at the Alamodome.
“Real happy right now and very proud of these guys,” said Duncanville coach David Peavy. “They have worked really hard to get here. I have some really good players that will be able to go off to college with some more hardware.”
Duncanville (29-1), No. 2 in the state, has won five titles overall. The Panthers were state champs in 2019 and reached the tournament in 2020 before it was canceled from COVID-19.
The Panthers were facing a hungry Westlake team (30-2) that was looking to win the school’s first basketball state title. The Chaparrals cut an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit down to 50-48 with 2:17 to play on two free throws by 4-star Kansas commit KJ Adams.
Duncanville scored the next five points to extend the lead to 55-48 with 90 seconds to go. Damon Nicholas (Sam Houston State commit) hit two baskets while drawing the foul both times. He hit the free throw on the second layup to make it a seven-point game.
No. 5 Westlake cut it to 55-51 on a three from Cade Mankle, but again Duncanville answered with the next four on layups by Zhuric Phelps and Ron Holland. Phelps, who’s signed to play at SMU, was voted MVP with a game-high 27 points on 11 of 17 shooting, 6 of 9 from the line, five rebounds and one block.
“It’s a blessing,” said Phelps, who started his high school career at Midland Lee. “I think I came to the right school and Coach Peavy has been the best coach I’ve played for. I really appreciate the coaches and players for pushing me to be a better player.”
Nicholas added seven points and five rebounds and Juan Reyna chipped in 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting and three triples for the Panthers.
Adams led the Chaps with 20 points on 7 of 17 shooting, a game-high 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Mankle added 15 points and three rebounds.
“All these guys have been in tight pressure situations. We’re in pretty good shape and push ourselves to the limit,” Peavy said. “We’ve been down and in close games and we’re ready for that. We’re built for this.
Both teams battled back and forth in the first quarter with the lead never growing over three points.
Duncanville went on an 11-0 run and turned a 10-8 deficit into a 19-10 lead on a Davion Sykes bucket with 5:18 to go in the second quarter.
Phelps hit a three to extend it to 22-13 two minutes later. The Panthers led 23-20 at the break.
“27 ... oh wow,” said Peavy when hearing how much Phelps scored. “I’m not shocked at all. We get to see this kid everyday so we know what he’s capable of doing. To do it on the stage like this when we needed him most, we talked before that this game, this moment changes your life. Zhuric and Damon, they’ll be champions for the rest of their lives. Zhuric will be MVP for the rest of his life.”
Westlake would make a comeback first with a Preston Clark layup that tied the game at 25 early in the third. Then the Chaps took a 28-27 lead on a Mankle three.
The two teams traded leads until Duncanville went up 35-31 on back-to-back baskets in the paint by Phelps. The Panthers led 37-34 at the end of three quarters.
“We play everyone and take everyone’s shot,” Peavy said. “We’ve had a target on our back for three years and these guys just know how to win.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2021 at 10:01 PM.
