No. 2 Marcus tops No. 15 Travis in Texas 5A final

AUSTIN, Texas – Although Marcus (Flower Mound) won last year's Class 5A state championship, it was not the finest moment for guard Phil Forte. The sharpshooter made only 1 of 12 shots, finished with three points, and then made a plan to redeem himself a year later.

On Saturday night, everything went according to plan for Forte and Marcus, which won the Texas Class 5A state title with a 56-52 victory over Fort Bend Travis (Richmond) at the Frank Erwin Center. Forte scored 24 points, nailed 4 of 6 3-pointers and scored the final eight points for Marcus (39-2), the No. 2 team in MaxPreps.com's Xcellent 25 national rankings.

"I was really motivated to get back here," Forte said of the state title game. "I wanted to prove myself to everyone."

Forte, a 5-foot-11 senior who signed with Oklahoma State, iced the game with six free throws in the final minute. He was named the game's MVP, although teammate Marcus Smart – his best buddy and fellow Oklahoma State signee – was just as critical in the win over No. 15 Fort Bend Travis (36-4).

Smart, a McDonald's All-American who had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists, made a steal and dished to Nick Banyard for a layup that tied the game at 40-40 with six minutes left. After Banyard scored off a rebound, Smart scored in the paint and was fouled, made the free throw, and then scored on another post move to give Marcus a 47-41 lead with 4:50 left.

Travis battled back with the help of Andrew and Aaron Harrison, the twin brothers who are among the nation's top recruits in the Class of 2013. Andrew Harrison, who led Travis with 23 points, hit a jumper to cut the lead to 47-45. After A.J. Luckey made one of two free throws for Marcus, Aaron Harrison scored on a layup to trim the lead to 48-47 with 2:35 left.

But then Forte, who has one of the sweetest shooting strokes in the state, drilled a 15-footer. And although Andrew Harrison countered with a basket to make the score 50-49 with 1:26 left, Marcus could stay in control by keeping the ball in Forte's hands. Travis was forced to foul the point guard, and none of his final six free throws even touched the rim.

Smart, last year's title game MVP, and Forte had a 114-6 record at Marcus the last three seasons. Their six losses were by a combined 21 points.

Although Marcus trailed by seven at one point in the third quarter, Smart never worried that his last high school game would be a loss.

"We came out here and showed everybody that we're the defending 5A champions and it wasn't going to be easy to get past us," he said. "This was a business trip for us."

Class 4A
Kimball (Dallas) 78, Yates (Houston) 75
Defending champion Kimball, facing the team that won the 2009 and 2010 titles, trailed by five points with 40 seconds left. But Yates missed the front end of a pair of one-and-ones and left the door open for a stunning reversal and one of the most memorable 3-pointers ever at the state tournament.

Torrey Henry hit a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left to cut Yates' lead to 75-73. Yates' Daymean Dotson missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Kimball turned the ball over before getting a shot off. Kimball sent Yates to the line again and Darrion Martin missed the first free throw and Kimball's Keith Frazier rebounded with 15 seconds left.

Frazier passed to Darian Hancock, who found Torrey in the right corner. With a defender flying at him, Torrey swished the 3-pointer and the crowd roared at the Frank Erwin Center.

"It was the moment I've always waited for," Henry said. "It was what I've always prayed for."

Yates then turned the ball over on a long pass downcourt. Kimball's Shannon Lilly was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to give Kimball (34-5) a three-point lead with seven seconds left. Dotson missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Lilly, who scored 27 points and made 5 of 8 3-pointers, was named the MVP of the title game for the second straight year. Dotson led Yates (33-6) with 23.

Class 3A
Argyle 44, Miller (Corpus Christi) 33

Argyle won its first state title with the help of smothering defense, which held Corpus Christi Miller to 24 percent shooting. Forward Clarke Overlander, a club teammate of Marcus' Forte and Smart, led Argyle (31-8) with 14 points and 10 rebounds and was named the game MVP.

Miller (30-10) took its only lead of the game, 18-17, with four minutes left in the third quarter. But Connor York hit two 3-pointers as part of a 13-3 to give the momentum back to Argyle, which held each of its seven playoff opponents to less than 40 points.

Other championship results:

2A: White Oak 61, Brock 53
1A Division 1: Clarksville 65, Mumford 47
1A Division 2: Calvert 63, Graford 37