Boys high school basketball roundup: Fort Worth Eastern Hills, more secure big wins

The Texas high school boys’ basketball season is ramping up.

Here are the results from some high-profile contests in the Fort Worth area.

Fort Worth Eastern Hills topples Southwest

Something had to give on Tuesday night, Jan. 14, at Billingsley Field House. Fort Worth Eastern Hills and Fort Worth Southwest both came in to their District 8-4A boys basketball showdown with undefeated district marks.

Eastern Hills pulled out to an early lead then had to hold off the Raiders 58-52 to take sole possession of first place.

“It was a great game and everything that we expected,” said Eastern Hills coach Melvin Miller,”I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about that team. They’re young, they scrappy, they play hard, and they lived up to that back and forth battle.”

Dorian Johnson poured in 22 points for Eastern Hills (13-7 overall, 5-0 district) to lead all scorers. The senior added 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.

The Highlanders pulled out to a 16-8 lead with 2:47 left in the first quarter on back-to-back three pointers by Messiah Miller, who chipped in 17 points with three makes coming from behind the arc.

From that point Eastern Hills kept Southwest (18-9, 4-1) at arms length. A basket by Johnson at the 4:19 mark of the second quarter gave the Highlanders its largest lead of the night (13) at 29-16. A basket by Miller to open the third quarter pushed the lead back to 13 at 38-25.

“Messiah Miller and Dorian Johnson have been starters on varsity since they were freshmen so they have a lot of experience,” said Melvin Miller. “They’re two very tight kids off the court as well so they really know each other backwards and forwards. They’re senior statesmen and try to get everybody involved and just lead by example.”

But the Raiders stormed back.

Southwest freshman King Taylor scored seven of his nine points in the third quarter as the Raiders went on a 10-3 run to pull to within 43-35. A three-point play by Taylor cut the lead to 45-40 to close out the third quarter.

Sage Gonzalez opened the fourth quarter for Southwest with a three to pull to within 45-43, but that’s as close as the Raiders would get. A pair of free throws by Johnson with 3:20 left pushed the lead to 55-46 and Southwest just couldn’t respond.

Dakarii Hudson led Southwest with 14 points with Kordon Henderson adding 11.

Arlington Martin bests Sam Houston

Martin (16-11, 3-2) was in danger of falling below .500 in District 8-6A play.

The Warriors, however, came to play in a matchup against Sam Houston (8-16, 1-5). Junior Jeremiah Ellis led the Warriors to a 56-38 win with 22 points. Sophomore Aiden Groce was also a key contributor with 19 points. Senior Keatyn Dotson rounded things out, adding nine points.

Colleyville Heritage takes down Grapevine in Red Rail rivalry game

Colleyville Heritage (13-12, 3-3) improved its playoff chances with a statement victory over Grapevine (11-15, 1-4) in one of North Texas’ premier rivalry games.

The Panthers took a 15-5 lead in the first quarter and continued to secure a solid 50-35 victory. The victory gives Heritage a .500 district record. The Panthers now have some momentum entering the final stretch of district games.

Senior guard Cash Gardner led the way with 16 points. Junior Bodey Weaver, also the Panthers’ starting quarterback, posted 10 points.

Aledo takes down Brewer with big game from Joaquin Pacheco

Aledo (22-4, 6-0) is undefeated in district play and is averaging 65 points per game on the season. The Bearcats continued their dominance vs. Brewer, securing a 64-56 victory.

Senior Joaquin Pacheco led the way with a 30-point game. Junior Townes Vanhuysen was also a key contributor with 14 points.

Brewer (14-13, 4-1) was a tough opponent, as it entered the contest vs. Aledo with zero district losses. The Bears are still in a solid position to earn a playoff spot out of District 5-5A Division I.

This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 11:26 PM.