Arlington Grace Prep boys win fifth state championship, Timberview wins regional final
Boys
Arlington Grace Prep 58, Schertz John Paul II 47
A 23-6 start in the first quarter paced Grace Prep over John Paul in the TAPPS 4A state championship on Saturday in West.
Grace Prep finishes with a 34-4 record, the most wins in program history. The previous record was 32 wins.
It’s the Lions fifth state title and first since 2019. They have reached the state tournament four times in the past five seasons.
“We got off to a fast start which we hadn’t done all playoffs. Hit some big shots,” Grace Prep coach Josh Duke said. “I’m blessed to win a state title at my alma mater. It means a lot to the Grace Prep family, and I’m honored to play a small part in that.”
John Paul was held to just three field goals in the first quarter while Grace Prep’s Ajani Jamison hit two threes and scored eight points. Jamison finished the regular season with the most threes among Fort Worth area players.
Kaden Lehew chipped in five points during the period.
The Lions led 34-18 at intermission and the game wasn’t close again until the fourth when John Paul outscored Grace Prep 18-11, but by then it was too late.
Jamison led Grace Prep with 16 points. Justin McNelkan added 13 and Braedyn Ellison had nine.
“Josh Williams took three first-half charges that gave us energy on the other end. Ajani Jamison’s four-point play to start the second half set the tone for the rest of the game,” Duke said. “Seniors like Braedyn Ellison and Justin McNelkan had huge buckets for us and made clutch free throws down the stretch.”
During Friday’s state semifinal, Grace Prep got a huge lift from Ellison who hit a three from just outside the half-court line at the first-quarter buzzer. The Lions had trailed the whole first quarter against Lubbock Trinity Christian, but the spark helped Grace Prep en route to a thrilling 58-55 win.
”This was a year coming,” said Duke of his bulletin board inside the team’s locker room all season long. “It just says ‘Don’t forget this feeling’. We never want to overlook an opponent, but we have had a little bit of a forward vision to this one and I’m really proud of our guys. They executed our defensive game plan excellently.”
The Lions kept a small lead until late in the second quarter. An 8-0 run starting with 48 seconds left before intermission and culminating with an Ellison layup at the 5:57 mark of the third quarter gave Grace Prep its largest lead at 36-25.
Trinity Christian never got closer than seven points from that point until a three-pointer by Dax Trout pulled it to within six at 51-45 with 4:54 left in the game.
Jamison hit 1 of 2 foul shots to up the lead to 56-52, but Trout buried another three-pointer making the score 56-55 with 34 seconds on the clock.
The teams traded turnovers before Jack Robinson stole a Grace Prep pass under the Trinity basket, tossed it to Marcus Ramon-Edwards whose shot rolled off the rim. Sean Sutton was there for the rebound for Trinity, but his put back was blocked by McNelkan.
Trinity fouled Jamison on an inbound pass immediately, but Jamison hit both free throws to make the score 58-55. Trinity got the ball in and tried to toss up a desperation three from just inside half court, but J.C. Shirer partially blocked the shot to give the win to Grace Prep.
Williams and McNelkan scored 15 points apiece while Jamison added 13 and Ellison finished with 11. Williams also had six steals, three assists and two rebounds.
Mansfield Timberview 68, Amarillo 59
For the fourth time in the past six seasons, the Timberview Wolves are headed to the UIL state tournament in San Antonio.
Chendall Weaver was named regional tourney MVP after scoring 28 points on 8-of-11 shooting as the Wolves beat the Sandies in the Class 5A Region 1 final on Saturday at the Yeager Coliseum in Wichita Falls.
Timberview (35-4) went to state in 2017, 2019 and 2020. The Wolves won the 5A title in the first two trips before COVID canceled the 2020 tournament. However, the UIL did declare Timberview as co-champion.
The Wolves will play a state semifinal game on Thursday night at either 7 or 8:30 p.m.
Weaver was 3 of 5 from three and 9 of 10 at the free-throw line. Jared Washington (12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals) and Donovan O’Day (14 points, 7 assists) were named to the regional all-tournament team.
Timberview’s largest lead was 17 late in the fourth quarter and the Wolves went on a 10-0 run in the first quarter for a 20-10 margin. The Wolves held the Sandies to 11 in the second quarter and nine in the third.
Timberview’s lead grew to 44-30 after three before both teams couldn’t miss in the fourth combining for 53 points (Amarillo 29).
The Sandies went to state last season after winning the region.
Timberview shot an incredible 23 of 37 from the field (62%). The Wolves went 6 of 7 in the final period and 12 of 17 from the stripe.
The Wolves had a 21-13 advantage on fast breaks and the starters did all the scoring as both teams combined for just one point off the bench.
Samir Dhalle and Braylon Crosby scored seven points each for Timberview.
Wichita Falls City View 46, Brock 44 OT
Nathan Jones hit the game-tying three-pointer for Brock to tie the game at 40-40, which sent it to overtime, but the Eagles ultimately fell short in the Class 3A Region 1 final on Saturday.
City View advances to the state tournament in San Antonio next week.
Brock led 44-42 with 1:48 left in the extra period. But City View scored four straight to hang on. Brock had a final chance to tie or take the lead, but a turnover with time expiring ended its season.
It was one-point game with City View leading Brock 11-10 after the first quarter. Chris Whitten had 10 points for City View.
The Eagles did a good job on defense guarding Whitten in the second quarter as he was limited to just one point. However, City View still led 21-19 at intermission.
Brock was able to take a lead at one point in the fourth before City View went back in front. Then Jones hit the three at the end of regulation.
This story was originally published March 5, 2022 at 9:10 PM.
