Ponder’s historic shooting downs Holliday, advances Lions to Class 3A state championship
For the first time since the 2014 season, Ponder made an appearance in the boys basketball state semifinals.
The Ponder Lions took advantage of the opportunity, securing a 62-46 victory over Holliday at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Thursday. In head coach JD Sullivan’s second season at the helm, Ponder (37-6) will compete for a Class 3A state title at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Ponder senior Kade Irons said he was in attendance for the Lions last state championship a decade ago, when he was in elementary school.
“You grow up in a small town and you know all the high school kids,” Irons said. “They are your heroes. Just for it to come a whole full circle -- now, it’s our turn to be on the biggest stage and have little kids look up to us. It’s what you dream of. It’s a dream.”
Timber Crider, also a senior at Ponder, said he grew up consistently seeing the five state championship photos at Ponder’s gymnasium. If the 2024 Lions secure one more win, they’ll permanently enshrine their legacy as champions and join elite company.
“You just realize that you want to be there one day,” Crider said. “You want everyone to look up to you as you look up to them.”
Holliday (34-3) made its second state appearance and first since 1943 but couldn’t overcome Ponder’s historic shooting from the perimeter. Ponder’s ball movement created scoring opportunities, and the Lions shot 62% from the field and 53% from 3-point range as a team.
Four Ponder players finished with 10 or more points: Crider (10), senior Eddy Carter (18), senior Max Hutcherson (15) and sophomore Jace Sullivan (10).
“We do feel confident in our shooting ability,” Sullivan said. “That is one of our strengths. But maybe our greatest strength is the fact that we don’t have one person that is always leading us in scoring. ... That balance has made a huge difference for us.”
Ponder faced a significant size advantage with its tallest player being 6-foot-3 while Holiday had six players over that mark. The Eagles tallest player is 6-foot-9 Keitenn Bristow, an uncommitted 247Sports three-star prospect, who finished with 20 points on 50% shooting.
“We knew if he got the ball in the post, it was going to be very tough to stop him,” Irons said. “ ... My goal was just to force him off the block as best as I could and know that if he gets it I have help coming.”
Ponder outrebounded Holliday 18 to 17, proving that size doesn’t always translate to rebounding success. The Lions also attacked the basket more efficiently, tallying six more points in the paint.
Ponder’s historic shooting downs Holliday
Ponder started the contest with back-to-back 3-pointers but three consecutive field goals from Holliday knotted things up, and both teams were tied at 15 as the first quarter ended.
Ponder, in the second quarter, endured a five minute scoring drought. The Lions broke the scoreless stretch with a 3-pointer from Crider and Holliday responded with a banked in 3-pointer from Cayden Howard.
Crider also hit a 3-pointer seconds before the second quarter buzzer, and the Lions managed to record a 14-point period despite not making a field goal for the majority of the frame. Ponder led 29-24 at the half.
“I feel like we got really good looks,” Crider said. “And thankfully we were hitting them and that really helped to get us going.”
The Lions continued their efficient play in the third quarter with three made shots from Hutcherson and soon reached a double digit lead. Ponder started to slow its possessions down, draining the clock while making smart choices with the basketball; the Lions finished with a Class 3A state tournament record of 22 assists, 10 more than Holliday.
“We know that we’re going to be unselfish and we’re going to share the ball,” Sullivan said. “When we’re not open, we’re going to make the extra pass.”
Ponder sealed the game in the fourth quarter, hitting six of six free throws to stabilize the lead.
Sullivan started his post game press conference by saying that the the team ends every contest by putting their faith first, which helps put things into perspective.
“We always want to make sure that we put God first,” Sullivan said. “If we lost, we would’ve done the same thing. We’re here because of his blessing, and we all feel incredibly blessed to be here. For us to have the opportunity to move on to the state championship -- we believe it is divine intervention.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2024 at 2:55 PM.
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