No. 2 North Crowley facing No. 6 Duncanville in all-DFW state semifinal showdown
In what could be one of the most intense atmospheres of the boys basketball season, North Crowley will clash with Duncanville in a Class 6A Division I state semifinal at 7:30 Tuesday at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center.
The Panthers won the coin flip, giving them the opportunity to play in Fort Worth, just an 11-mile drive from North Crowley High.
Both North Crowley (33-3), ranked No. 2 in 6A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, and No. 6 Duncanvile (27-6) enter the contest with 16-game win streaks. North Crowley beat Allen 72-55 in the regional finals, while Duncanville downed Cypress Ranch 49-41.
“I want us to play hard,” said North Crowley guard Isaak Hayes, who holds offers from TCU, Kansas State and more. “And play together as a team.”
North Crowley is making its first state tournament appearance since winning its sole state title in 2008, while Duncanville is making its sixth in the past decade and 11th total.
Duncanville has six state championships, including three in the past decade (2019, 2021, 2025). The Dallas-area Panthers’ latest title run last season in Class 6A Division I was a hard-fought gauntlet; Duncanville took down Allen, the team that eliminated North Crowley, and Bellaire, by a combined five points.
This season, North Crowley will be a hard team to eliminate, as the squad has been one of the most dominant not just in Texas, but the entire nation.
North Crowley, the top-ranked team remaining after No. 1 Katy Seven Lakes lost to Humble Atascocita, boasts a No. 17 national ranking from MaxPreps and has beaten every playoff opponent by 16 points or more.
“We can’t get complacent with winning,” Hayes said. “We got to keep going to practice. And work hard. D-ville next — it’s a big game. They have been here before. Keep putting the work in and trust.”
North Crowley enters the semifinal without extensive state tournament experience, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a program in the Fort Worth area with more accolades in any classification.
Since Tommy Brakel took over as the program’s inaugural coach, North Crowley has 13 regional semifinal appearances and over 800 wins. His teams have made the playoffs in 27 of 28 years, with 22 district titles.
That level of consistency and longevity competing at the highest level of Dallas-Fort Worth basketball is unparalleled.
That’s one of the reasons Brakel was presented with the John R. Wooden Legacy Award by the National High School Basketball Coaches Association. It also honors contributions in the classroom and community.
And this season, Brakel’s Panthers are arguably deeper than ever before, with a flurry of talent that includes Hayes, an all-around star guard with NBA range who commands the defense’s respect, and 6-foot-7 forward Trey Hall, who has a stellar combination of size, skill and shotmaking.
Hall, also a respectable shot blocker and rebounder, said defense will be the priority, as it “wins championships.”
There’s also Jonathan Fox, a high-motor athlete who recently made national headlines with a 360 alley-oop dunk, and Kameron Price, a pesky guard who welcomes the toughest defensive assignments, facilitates while taking care of the basketball and rebounds well for his size.
“We’ve got to work,” Fox said. “We’ve got to play hard. Play until the end. Sweat and tears.”
Rounding thing out is Alex Barther II, a physical, 6-4 guard with offers from TCU, Texas A&M and more. He is versatile and can do a bit of everything on the court. And the talent doesn’t stop there.
“One through 15, everybody can play,” Hayes said. “We might not play 15 guys, but everybody can go.”
Tickets, if still available, can be found at Crowley ISD’s website.
This story was originally published March 9, 2026 at 12:44 PM.
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