Austin teams command respect in Texas basketball

Despite being held practically in its own back yard, the Austin ISD is not a familiar face when the UIL Boys State Basketball Tournament tips off in March. That could change this year.

That's because Austin and Bowie (Austin) are ranked Nos. 20 and 24, respectively, in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches/Tex Preps Basketball Magazine state rankings for Class 5A. The District 15-5A rivals squared off last weekend with the Austin High Maroons rallying to knock off the Bulldogs, 61-54, in a district opener.

The game was knotted at 45 heading into the fourth quarter, but thanks to 12-for-14 free throw shooting in the final stanza, Austin High was able to prevail despite making only two field goals in the period. Bowie had one last chance to tie the game down 57-54, but a Mareik Isom 3-point effort was short.

Alex Reinking grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball up the court rather than stalling or waiting for a foul. His bucket with 29 seconds left upped the lead to 59-54. Eric McClellan led Austin High with 25 points as the Maroons improved to 20-2, 1-0, dropping Bowie to 19-3, 0-1.



Back to the point about a possible representative from the Austin ISD playing in the state tournament at the University of Texas' Erwin Center. The last time the district featured a school in the state's largest playoff
classification came in 1960 when Austin High represented Class 4A and fell in the championship game to Beaumont South Park, 41-36.

FORT WORTH ISD ALSO STEPS UP
Like Austin, the Fort Worth Independent School District has not been a well-known participant in Austin other than the legendary Fort Worth Dunbar Flying Wildcats that made trips down I-35 to Austin with regularity under Coach Robert Hughes. Dunbar's program is currently down by its lofty standards, but a pair of juggernauts has risen in Class 4A in No. 6 Arlington Heights (Fort Worth) and No. 7 Trimble Tech (Fort Worth).

Heights got the best of Trimble Tech in a District 6-4A collision by a 67-59 margin. Marquis Jackson led the way for the winners with 23 points while Travis Williams chipped in 21.

Tech staged a furious rally in the fourth quarter but came up short. How furious, you ask? Glad to answer. Consider that at halftime Heights held a 29-9 lead and owned a 41-20 lead after three periods.

The teams went into racehorse mode in the final eight minutes as Tech put up an unbelievable 39-point outburst but still ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Arlington Heights is now 18-3 while Tech is 19-4.

Both teams are deep and talented and look to be the cream of the crop residing in Region 1.



Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}FIRST ROUND GOES TO SILSBEE
Yet another enticing district opener came in District 21-3A as No. 7 Silsbee withstood No. 11 Sour Lake Hardin-Jefferson for a 64-56 victory. The Tigers improve to 20-2, 1-0 while the Hawks drop to 22-5, 0-1.

Silsbee rode the talents of 6-4 senior D.C. Stallworth to victory. Stallworth finished with 19 points, but more importantly had 14 of those in the fourth quarter as Silsbee opened the quarter with a 13-0 dash to assume a seven-point it would maintain.

The loss snapped a 13-game winning streak for Hardin-Jefferson while Silsbee won its ninth in a row. Shawn Prudhomme led the Hawks with 22 points.

IN MEMORIAM: TIFFANI ARTT
The high school basketball coaching community lost one of its very bravest when Conrad (Dallas) girls coach Tiffani Artt died after an 18-month-long battle with cancer. She was 39.

Artt began her 18-year coaching career at Texas Pleasant Grove and fashioned an 89-49 record in five years with the Lady Hawks. She also coached at Kaufman and Royse City and most recently was at Dallas Molina before moving over to Conrad.

The Coach Tiffani Artt Scholarship has been established to help female athletes from Dallas ISD fulfill dreams of coaching and teaching. For more information call 479-717-1900.



REESE'S PIECES
Bryan junior J-Mychal Reese had a monster game in delivering a career-high 52 points to help the Vikings to a 113-79 District 12-5A win over Belton. Reese's stat line was sensational as he hit 18 of his 21 shot attempts and was 6 of 8 from 3-point territory. He also had six assists, five rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot to go along with no turnovers.

Reese had 18 points in the second quarter and hit the 50-point mark with a basket and foul shot with 3:18 left. He also had the final points of the game on the first dunk of his high school career.

COACHING MILESTONES
Coach Jason Fossett of the Killeen boys and Melissa Hernandez of the Angleton girls both enjoyed career win No. 300 last week. Hernandez hit the mark as her team knocked off Bay City, 43-28, while Fossett reached the plateau as the Kangaroos beat Waco University, 77-45.

R.V. Baugus is the publisher of Tex Preps Basketball magazine and texprepsbasketball.com.