Texline's feel-good basketball story ends in Texas state tournament overtime loss

The story of the Texline (Texas) boys basketball team, intriguing as it is with a roster composed of 11 of the 14 boys in school, will not have a Cinderella ending.

One victory shy of the Class 1A Division 2 Texas state championship game, Texline's season came to an end in a 71-65 overtime loss to Roxton (Texas) Friday afternoon in the semifinal round at Austin's Frank Erwin Center.

The Tornadoes (28-7) rallied from a nine-point deficit to force overtime, but their fate was sealed when outscored 10-0 in the first two minutes of the extra period.

Making its first state tournament appearance, Texline used only six players. That could have been a factor when the Tornadoes missed their first three shots and suffered three turnovers during a disastrous two-minute scoreless stretch at the start of overtime.

Getting to overtime caused Texline to expend a lot of energy. Facing a nine-point deficit with 5:35 to go, the Tornadoes rallied and drew even, 56-56, on an Aaron Gutierrez layup with 27 seconds to play in regulation.

Only 10 member schools in Texas' University Interscholastic League have a smaller enrollment than Texline's 30, according to the most recent realignment figures. Enrollment for the largest Class 1A school is 199.

Texline is located in the state's Panhandle near the New Mexico border. The distance to Austin for the state tournament: 617 miles. And how many state capitals are closer to Texline than Austin, the Texas state capital? According to a graphic from the Amarillo Globe-News, there are six: Denver (Colo.), Santa Fe (N.M.), Cheyenne (Wyo.), Lincoln (Neb.), Topeka (Kan.) and Oklahoma City (Okla.).

Gutierrez, a 6-5 sophomore guard, finished with 25 points and 20 rebounds. Teammate Chance Helms, a 6-3 junior forward, also scored 25 for Texline.

With seven other players on the roster returning next year for coach Tanner Martin, the Tornadoes could well be making another trip to Austin.

Roxton (28-4), enrollment 76, was led by Quinton Walker's 25 points. In the 1A Division II title game Saturday evening, the Lions will face Douglass (Texas) (29-6).

Harrison twins reach Class 5A state final again

With twin brothers Aaron and Andrew Harrison leading the way, Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas) reached the Class 5A state championship game for the second-straight season with a 60-52 elimination of Berkner (Richardson, Texas) in the final game on Friday.

In Saturday's 8:30 p.m. championship game for the state's largest classification, Travis (32-5) from suburban Houston will face South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie, Texas) (37-3) from suburban Dallas.

The Harrison twins, 6-5 signees of Kentucky, combined for 37 points in their return to the Frank Erwin Center. Aaron finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Andrew had 18 points and five rebounds, finishing with a flourish on the dunking end on a couple of fourth-quarter lobs from Aaron, who had seven assists.

They combined to go 19-for-23 from the free throw line. Berkner was whistled for 23 fouls and had two players foul out.

Berkner (33-6) led until the 2:16 mark of the third period.

Travis was defeated in the 2012 title game by Marcus (Flower Mound), 56-52.

South Grand Prairie breezed to a convincing 60-43 victory over Steele (Cibolo, Texas) (25-13) on Friday afternoon. The Warriors, making their first state tournament appearance in 38 years, got 34 points from their senior backcourt tandem of Mark Howell (20) and Virginia Tech signee Ben Emelogu (14).

In six playoff games, South Grand Prairie's in-your-face man-to-man defense is holding opponents to an average of 36.8 points.

Like Travis, South Grand Prairie saw its 2012 season end at the hands of Marcus, 39-38, in the Region I title game.

Kimball (Dallas) goes for 4A three-peat

In Saturday's Class 4A state title game, Kimball (Dallas) shoots for its third-consecutive state title when it faces Terry (Rosenberg, Texas).

Keith Frazier and Gabe Lilly scored 18 points each for 23-9 Kimball in a 64-52 semifinal elimination of Brennan (San Antonio) on Thursday.

Terry improved to 30-9 with a 46-33 semifinal victory over Arlington Heights (Fort Worth, Texas). Guard Eugene Wright led Terry with 12 points.

Class 3A finalist Yates (Houston) has dropped down a classification this season after to losing to Kimball 78-75 in last year‘s 4A title game. But Yates' high-scoring reputation continues. Twelve times in a 32-4 season Yates has reached the 100-point plateau.

The challenge of trying to slow Yates down in Saturday morning's 3A final will fall on 31-4 Madison (Dallas), a club with four players on its roster listed at 6-foot, 7-inches or taller.

In a rematch of the 2012 Class 2A final, defending champion White Oak (Texas) (36-1) from East Texas will face Brock (Texas) (32-6). White Oak defeated Brock 61-53 in last year‘s title game. Brock is going for the school's third boys basketball state title.

The opening game on championship Saturday will match the lone remaining unbeaten team in the tournament, 39-0 Mumford (Texas), against 27-5 Triple A Academy (Dallas) in the Class 1A Division 1 final.