Second-half surge fuels Mansfield Timberview in basketball state semifinal
Boerne Champion hit a corner three-pointer to put it on top, 30-28 with 5:32 left in the third quarter.
Mansfield Timberview, like it has done so well all season, started to run, get out on transition and scored easy baskets to end the period with a 16-2 run and take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
The Wolves beat the Chargers, 55-43, in a Class 5A state semifinal on Thursday at the Alamodome.
“Shoot it was dogfight there for a good while,” Timberview coach Duane Gregory said. “We were able to get some easy baskets and tried to create some tempo and make it to our advantage. I think we did a good job trying to control them and I thought we responded well in the second half.”
Timberview (36-4) will play for the title against Beaumont United (35-3) at 3 p.m. Saturday. United, which beat Dallas Kimball 66-64 on Thursday, is the defending 5A champ.
“[United] has good size and is extremely athletic. I anticipate it being a different kind of game than it was tonight,” Gregory said.
Timberview reaches the championship game for the third time in six seasons. The Wolves won titles in 2017 and 2019 and were co-champs in 2020 following the tournament’s cancellation from COVID.
Chendall Weaver led the Wolves with 22 points on 9 of 12 shooting, 11 rebounds and three assists. Jared Washington added 11 points, five rebounds and four steals.
Donovan O’Day chipped in six points and six assists.
“We’re good in the half court, but they got out in transition and got some offensive rebounds. They really thrive on that. That’s the best transition team I’ve seen all year,” said Champion coach Chris Adamek of Timberview. “That was the turning point. We tried to keep it a half-court game. We had some turnovers and mishaps and they were able to push the lead.”
“This group all year has shown tremendous resiliency,” said Gregory of his team. “When they’re in a situation maybe they’re down or not playing well or something like that, they’ve just shown the ability to come together and push forward and they did that tonight.”
Champion pushed its lead to five early in the second quarter on a three from Braden Baum. After Timberview took a brief lead, the Chargers went ahead 25-20 with 2:26 left in the first half.
But Timberview responded with the final eight points of the quarter to take a 28-25 lead into intermission. The Wolves got threes from Daniel Vieira-Tuck and Washington plus a Weaver layup with 42 seconds on the clock.
“That’s huge right there. It gives you a bit of momentum going into halftime,” Gregory said. “The bigger thing is that it takes momentum out of [Champion’s] mind that they might have.”
Neither team could score in the first two minutes of the third quarter. Champion’s three gave the Chargers a 30-28 lead with 5:32 to go in the period.
Timberview would make four layups in less than two minutes to go back in front 36-30. Two more layups from Weaver and Derrick Scott extended the lead to 40-30 with 2:33 to play. Weaver got a tip-in just before the buzzer for a 44-32 margin.
“I have to thank my teammates for passing the ball and really I was just playing hard,” Weaver said. “I knew we were going to win the game. Not trying to be cocky or anything, but just playing hard. Trusting my teammates and trusting myself.”
Champion cut it to eight early in the fourth before Weaver flushed a Braylon Crosby assist while drawing a foul. Eight points would be as close as Champion got the rest of the game.
“We’ve played a lot of games together so it helps us with our bond and chemistry,” Washington said. “We already know what it takes to come together and get it done.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 10:43 PM.