Oak Cliff Faith Family rolls past Hirschi with efficient shooting in championship game

A historic shooting performance in the first half was all Oak Cliff Faith Family needed during its Class 4A state championship game against Wichita Falls Hirschi.

The Eagles shot 67% from the floor and 67% from three on their way to a 76-50 rout over the Huskies on Saturday at the Alamodome.

“Amazing performance. They did a good job tonight carrying out the game plan,” Faith Family coach Brandon Thomas said. “They shot the ball like I’ve never seen them shoot the ball all season. They definitely saved their best performance for last and went out the right way.”

Faith Family wins its third state championship in four seasons. The Eagles have reached state in four straight seasons. They also won in 2019 and were co-champs during the 2020 COVID year.

“It’s a testament to the program and to the talent, the commitment to excellence and the commitment to winning,” Thomas said. “Our goal every year is for us to get to the last game. It’s tough. It’s not easy to come four times in a row. People may think it’s not difficult, but it’s difficult especially when you have a target on your back.”

The Eagles out scored the Huskies 22-11 in the first quarter and 29-10 in the second to lead 51-21 at the break.

The Eagles shot 20 of 30 in the half and 8 of 12 from downtown. That included 11 of 15 during the second quarter.

Faith Family got out to a 15-3 lead on a TJ Caldwell fast-break layup. Hirschi cut it to eight on a basket from Ernest Young with 2:30 left in the first before Jazz Henderson hit a three for the Eagles just before the end of the period.

Faith Family scored the first 11 points in the second to grow the lead to 33-11 following Isaiah Jones’ trey with 6:16 left in the period. After a Hirschi three, the Eagles scored seven straight to make it 40-14.

The Eagles’ largest lead was 34 and they never trailed in the game.

Caldwell was voted championship MVP with 20 points on 8 of 14 shooting with four threes. Jones added 14 on 5 of 8 and also made four threes, and JT Toppin chipped in 13 points on 6 of 13.

Peyton Gusters led the team with 10 rebounds.