Lake Highlands boys beat Byron Nelson to win 6A Region 1

Lake Highlands beat Byron Nelson 62-36 on Saturday in the 6A Region I finals to advance to the state semifinals on Thursday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Lake Highlands (31-3) led by double digits for most of the first half, keeping Byron Nelson (31-7) at bay until the Bobcats went on an 8-0 run between the second and third quarters to shrink the Wildcats lead to 8.

The Wildcats responded with a 10-0 run powered by junior guard Tre Johnson. He scored seven of the 10 points during the run, scoring two buckets and assisting on one. Johnson is the No. 1 junior high school player in the country according to 247 sports and he showed why on Saturday.

Johnson led all scorers with 25 points, including 18 off seven 3-pointers. His stat line is more impressive considering that he had to sit for a period of time in the first half due to foul trouble.

In the first half, Johnson almost outscored the Bobcats by himself scoring 13 points to their 18.

“I know my teammates will come to me whenever I’m feeling it but I still gotta keep in mind whenever they trying to help or double off me to find my other teammates,” said Johnson.

Johnson did just that dishing multiple assists due to the pressure he put on the Byron Nelson defense. Several of Johnson’s assists led to monstrous dunks by his teammates that threw the crowd into a frenzy.

Lake Highlands hit 12 3-pointers with many of them being contested.

“They were on fire from three, Tre Johnson will be a pro. I mean that kid is phenomenal can make any tough shot he’s a great player, they’re an outstanding team, I expect them to win the state championship,” said Byron Nelson head coach Scott Curran.

Despite the lopsided score, Byron Nelson played hard throughout the game.

Senior forward Conner Lindsey scored their first five points of the game and was consistently throwing his body around to grab rebounds, lose balls and defend.

“Conner’s been good for us for four years, he’s been a four-year varsity player, he’s a tough kid he’s a winner,” said Curran.

Nelson’s offense struggled to score throughout the game, especially converting at the rim due to the length and skill of Lake Highlands defenders who made sure that every Nelson bucket was earned.

“We have a lot of guys on our team that can guard and we know ... some of their guys was suspect from three-point so we can help off them and still get back,” said Johnson.

“We tried to spread ‘em out and get to the rim. We got them spread out we got to the rim we just didn’t make open shots,” said Curran.

Though it was a bittersweet ending Curran knows his team played to their full ability and had a season worth remembering.

“They overachieved, every coach hopes teams reach their potential and these guys reached their potential. To play in the 6A regional finals is something special so I’m super proud of them.“

This story was originally published March 4, 2023 at 4:14 PM.

Lawrence Dow

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from USC. He’s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.