Hebron's 34-game winning streak ends to South Grand Prairie

FORT WORTH, Texas – The fate of arguably Texas' top two remaining boys basketball teams hung on a last-second 3-point shot.

Hebron (Carrollton) point guard Ridge Shipley's attempt from right of the key caught of lot of the rim before spinning out, allowing South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie) to hold on for a 35-33 victory in the Class 5A Region I championship game Saturday afternoon at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center.

South Grand Prairie (36-3), No. 4 in the state, earned its first trip to the State Tournament since 1975.

Hebron (36-3), No. 24 in the Xcellent 25 national ranking and No. 2 in the state, saw its 34-game winning streak and a chance at its first state tournament come to a heartbreaking conclusion.

Hebron coach Mark Bishop said Shipley, a Cal Poly signee, was the right guy for the winning shot.

"He's been doing it for us all year,'' said Bishop, "and he had a good look.''

Shipley entered the regional tournament with a 22.7 scoring average in the playoffs. He was held to four.

"I hadn't made many shots, but I was hoping to pull a Michael Jordan and win the game for my team right there,'' said Shipley. "We had the perfect play called. The shot was just a little bit short.''

On the South Grand Prairie sideline, coach Brandon Bennett held his breath.

Said Bennett: "I was thinking ‘Please don't go in.' And I thought back to last year. You have to get some breaks in a game like this.''

A season ago, South Grand Prairie had to deal with an unsuccessful final shot when it lost the Region I title game on the same floor to eventual state champion Flower Mound Marcus, 39-38.

"All of our guys that went through it remember the pain of last year,'' said South Grand Prairie's Ben Emelogu, the game's leading scorer with 13 points. "Ridge is a great player. I've known him since the fourth grade. We were lucky at the end.''

South Grand Prairie led for only two of the game's 32 minutes. A free throw by Emelogu, a Virginia Tech signee, with 1:10 remaining put the Warriors on top 34-33, their first lead since the game's opening minute.

Another South Grand Prairie free throw by Trey Hall with 21 seconds on the clock increased the advantage to two.

Hebron failed to score in the final six minutes and was outscored, 19-10 in the second half, going 5-for-15 from the field with seven turnovers.

"They turned the pressure up in the third quarter and made it harder for us to get down the floor,'' said Hebron's Bishop.

Coming from behind is nothing new for South Grand Prairie.

"My guys are so resilient,'' said Bennett. "They just don't quit. We're in that situation week-in and week-out in our district. The experience of playing in this game last year helped us. I know it helped me as a coach.''

Hebron, which defeated the state‘s top-ranked team DeSoto (No. 7 in the Xcellent 25) on Tuesday, opened the game's biggest lead of 11 points in the opening minute of the second period. But it would be another seven minutes before the Hawks would score again. Hebron went to the break leading 23-17.

Emelogu led South Grand Prairie back with seven points in the third period and senior backcourt mate Mark Howell found cracks in the Hebron defense on drives to the basket.

"When we get good games from our senior guards, we are hard to beat,'' said Bennett.

Hall tied the score at 31 a half-minute into the fourth period. Hebron went back in front at the six-minute mark on an inside move by 6-6 sophomore Tyler Williams. That turned out to be the last points of the game from the Hawks.

Howell's driving shot down the left side of the lane tied it for the final time with 2:05 to play.

Senior guard Jeff Hicks and junior post Connor McClenaghan led Hebron with eight points.

"The guys are pretty devastated right now,'' said Bishop. "They weren't on anybody's radar when the season started, but they believed in each other. The sum of our parts was pretty good.''

The only previous state tournament appearance for South Grand Prairie came in 1975 when it lost to Lamesa in the Class 3A final.

"So many things are running through my head right now,'' said Bennett. "I remember how hard it was watching somebody else cut the nets down last year. And I think of all the work these guys have put in to make this possible.''

Elsewhere, in Houston, Andrew Harrison scored 17 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter to lead Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas) to a 61-53 victory over rival Fort Bend Bush (Richmond, Texas) in the Class 5A Region III title game. Bush had beaten Travis in three prior meetings this season.

In Waco, Berkner (Richardson, Texas) placed four scorers in double figures, led by Keenan Evans with 17 points, in a 61-53 victory over Anderson (Austin) in the Region II final.

Steele (Cibolo, Texas) took the Region IV title with a 71-67 triumph over Brandeis (San Antonio).