Champions in 6 UIL classifications will be crowned on Saturday in San Antonio; Plano West retains top spot but still needs 2 wins for state title.
Video: 3 in the Key with Jason HickmanMaxPreps basketball editor Jason Hickman discusses the latest HS news.State champions in six UIL classifications will be crowned on Saturday, the final day of the boys state basketball tournament weekend at San Antonio's Alamodome.
The No. 1 team in MaxPreps Texas Top 25, Plano West (Plano) will face surprising MacArthur (Irving) in a Class 6A semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday.
MacArthur debuted in the rankings at No. 8 this week after playoff upsets over Atascocita (Humble) and Richardson.
The 8:30 p.m. semifinal matches Clear Lake (Houston) and Clemens (Schertz).
Clear Lake climbed to No. 2 in the ranking with its double overtime win over Clear Creek (League City) in the Region III title game. Clemens moved to No. 7 after a dominant performance in the Region IV tournament.
The Class 5A bracket begins on Thursday evening with No. 3 Lancaster facing No. 12 Andress (El Paso). In the nightcap, No. 9 Ozen (Beaumont) meets No. 23 Cedar Park.
The 5A championship game is set for 3 p.m. Saturday and the 6A final tips at 8:30 p.m.
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MaxPreps Texas Top 25 Basketball Rankings
1. Plano West 31-2 (1)The Wolves rolled to the 6A-RI title with wins over Amarillo (72-42) and District 6-6A foe Allen in the title game 70-53. Texas A&M signee
D.J. Hogg led the way with a combined 38 points. The closest game in a 3-0 week was a 49-43 regional quarterfinal win over Cedar Hill.
2. Clear Lake (Houston) 34-2 (6)Bradley George scored 16 and
Christian West added 15 in a 63-56 double-overtime victory over District 24-6A rival Clear Creek (League City) in the 6A-RIII title game.
Orion Lewis led with 22 points in a 68-53 regional semifinal victory over Houston Math Science Tech (Houston).
3. Lancaster 32-4 (3)Deon Barrett and Texas A&M signee
Elijah Thomas helped the Tigers to three playoff wins in the week capped by a 73-45 drubbing of Woodrow Wilson (Dallas) in a 5A-RII final. McKinney was an 86-61 victim in a semifinal. In the regional quarterfinals, the Tigers eased past South Oak Cliff (Dallas) 81-76.
4. Clear Creek (League City)* 33-4 (7)The Wildcats took Clear Lake to two overtimes in the 6A-RIII title game loss.
Tyquon Jordan hit a 3-pointer to force the first overtime and
Rashadre Wilson's driving shot tied the game to force a second overtime.
Jared Evans scored 14 points.
5. Cedar Hill* 28-4 (5)The Longhorns led No. 1 Plano West by 10 points in the first half and never trailed until the fourth quarter in a 49-43 6A-RI quarterfinal elimination.
Kealon Clayborne led with 16 points.
6. Atascocita (Humble)* 35-2 (2)The Eagles were stunned 79-74 by MacArthur (Irving) in the 6A-RII title game.
Carsen Edwards scored 26 points and
Brandon Loville added 18. Atascocita, which also lost in regional final the previous season, breezed by Berkner (Richardson) 76-54 in a semifinal.
7. Clemens (Schertz) 33-4 (10)The Buffaloes stampeded to the 6A-RIV title with routs of McAllen (97-47) and Alexander (Laredo) (117-85) in the title game. Clark (San Antonio) lost to Clemens in a regional quarterfinal 66-62 with
Frank Harris leading the Buffs with 16.
8. MacArthur (Irving) (27-8) (NR)
Donny Belcher, MacArthur
Photo by Oladipo Awowale
Junior guard Andrew Jones scored 20 points to help the Cardinals upset Atascocita (Humble) 79-74 in the 6A-RII title game. Jones was leading scorer with 16 in a 57-56 semifinal victory over McNeil (Round Rock).
9. Ozen (Beaumont) 29-3 (12)Jordan Hunter, a New Mexico signee, was named MVP of the 5A-RIII tournament after the Panthers defeated rival Central (Beaumont) 58-52 in the title game.
10. DeSoto* 29-5 (4)The Eagles, champion of District 8-6A, were upset by Keller 51-41 in an area playoff.
11. Beaumont Central* 31-4 (11)In the all-Beaumont showdown for the 5A-RIII title, the Jaguars lost to Ozen (Beaumont) 58-52.
Tyrin Atwood scored 18 for the Jags.
12. Andress (El Paso) 33-1 (14)Alvin Warren's follow shot at the buzzer gave the Eagles a 62-60 victory over Palo Duro (Amarillo) in the 5A-RI title game.
Rashad Still led with 16 points.
13. Brennan (San Antonio)* 31-3 (8)Da'Shawn Key scored 26 points, but the Bears were eliminated in a 80-75 regional quarterfinal loss to Warren (San Antonio).
14. South Oak Cliff (Dallas)* 30-6 (18)Eventual 5A-RII champion Lancaster ended the Golden Bears‘ season, 81-76 in a quarterfinal.
15. Richardson* 30-5 (9)Brandon Averette scored 28 points in an 82-70 regional quarterfinal loss to eventual state tournament qualifier MacArthur (Irving).
16. Fort Bend Elkins (Missouri City)* 27-5 (16)The Knights' season ended with a 51-50 loss to Ozen (Beaumont) in the 5A area playoff round.
17. Dawson (Pearland)* 31-6 (24)The Eagles gave it a battle before losing 55-51 to Clear Creek (League City) in a 6A-RIII semifinal.
18. North Shore (Houston)* 27-7 (19)The defending champion of the state's largest classification lost 68-65 to Clear Creek (League City) in a Class 6A area playoff.
19. McNeil (Austin)* 25-11 (23)Victor Bailey Jr., a sophomore guard, scored 23 points in a 57-56 loss to MacArthur (Irving) in a 6A-RII semifinal.
20. Amarillo* 30-4 (15)The Sandies saw their season end in a 72-42 loss to Plano West (Plano) in a 6A-RI semifinal.
Michael Dawn scored 19.
21. Bel Air (El Paso)* 32-1 (13)An undefeated season and state title hopes ended with a 58-44 loss to Andress (El Paso) in the 5A-RI quarterfinal.
22. Prestonwood Christian (Plano)* 32-4 (25)The Lions won their fourth straight TAPPS 5A title with a 49-32 victory over Trinity Christian (Addison).
Schnider Herard led the way with 23 points.
23. Cedar Park 28-6 (NR)Keaton Hervey scored 25 points in a 53-41 victory over Houston (San Antonio) for the 5A Region IV title and a berth in the state tournament.
24. Houston Math Science & Tech (Houston)* 30-4 (21)The Tigers were eliminated 68-53 in a 6A-RIII semifinal by eventual regional winner Clear Lake (Houston).
25. Madison (Dallas) 27-6 (NR)Admon Gilder scored 37 points in a 67-63 victory over Triple A Academy (Dallas) in the 4A-RII title game.
*Season overDropped out: No. 17 Kimball (Dallas) No. 20 Liberty (Frisco), No. 23 Skyline (Dallas).