PASADENA, Texas - In a fierce contest pitting two state-ranked teams, the Houston Bellaire Cardinals outlasted Austin Westlake 50-47 in the Gold Division I championship game of the seventh annual McDonald’s Texas Invitational Saturday night.
Bellaire guard Sheldon McClellan swoops in for a deuce.
Photo by Jim Redman
The Cardinals, coached by Bruce Glover, had all they could handle from the Chapparals of Westlake, coached by Tres Ellis. The Chaps came in ranked No. 5 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches' preseason poll. Bellaire is No. 10.
Sheldon McClellan, a 6-foot-5 junior guard committed to Texas, led the way for Bellaire with 23 points. Tobi Oyedeji, a 6-9 front-line who has signed to Texas A&M, scored only six points due to foul trouble, but ripped down 12 rebounds and had six blocks for the winners. McClellan was stellar from the free throw line, sinking eight of nine, mostly down the stretch.
USF-signee Cody Doolin, a 6-2 point guard, was outstanding in defeat, scoring 16 points and dishing eight assists. Most of those went to 6-6 senior wing Conner Kemper, who knocked down four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 17 points.
The tournament featured nine of the top 20 TABC teams, including defending 5A state champion De Soto. Other ranked teams included No. 3 Duncanville and No. 8 La Porte.
Other top 20 teams were San Antonio Madison, McAllen, Alief Elsik and North Crowley, which knocked off La Porte 82-66 to take third place in the Division I Gold bracket.
In girls action, defending state champion Mansfield Summit won a thriller over Cy-Fair 63-56 to capture the Division 1 championship. The game was a rematch of last year’s state semifinal, won by Summit and the two top ranked TABC teams. Summit, coached by Tammy Lusinger, forced three straight turnovers in the fourth quarter and turned them all into baskets against the top-ranked Bobcats, who are coached by Ann Roubique.
The Lady Jaguars, ranked No. 2, were led in scoring by Taylor Hooker with 16 points and Breanna Harris 13. Cy-Fair got 24 points from junior point guard and Texas commit Cassie Peoples, and 13 points and eight rebounds by Stanford-signee Chiney Ogwumike, a 6-3 post.
Bracket championship games
Boys
Gold Division 1: Bellaire 50, Austin Westlake 47
Silver Division 1: De Soto 54, Dickinson 43
Bronze Division 1: Kingwood 35, SA Madison 28
Gold Division 2: SA Taft 47, Spring 45
Silver Division 2: Klein Collins 58, Westside 56
Bronze Division 2: Channelview 61, Manvel 59
Girls
Division 1 Championship: Mansfield Summit 63, Cy-Fair 56
Division 2 Championship: Cy Creek 60, SA Madison 47
Complete results: Click here.
About the Tournament
The McDonald’s Texas Invitational is the brainchild of Steering Committee Chairman Ben Meador, the president of Meador Staffing Services in Pasadena. It is run over three days at nine sites in this Houston suburb with 48 boys and 32 girls squads participating. The event depends on hundreds of volunteers to make it flourish and has turned it into one of the state's and nation's top tournaments. This monumental event is the primary annual fundraiser for the Pasadena ISD Education Foundation.
