High school basketball: Five-star Texas signee Ronald Holland leads No. 2 Duncanville past No. 8 Columbus 62-59

The nightcap of Friday action at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest outside of Dallas lived up to its billing. No. 2 Duncanville (Texas) grinded out a 62-59 victory over No. 8 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) despite a big time performance from top-ranked sophomore Cameron Boozer, who went for 26 points and 11 rebounds on 9 of 13 shooting from the field.

Five-star Texas signee Ronald Holland led the way in the victory with 25 points, eight rebounds and four steals, making a number of big plays down the stretch to clinch the win for the Panthers.

The game, played on Duncanville's home floor, featured defending state champions from Texas and Florida. The Lone Star State school saw its 2022 title stripped last last month due to an eligibility issue, however.

Duncanville (4-0) overcame a sluggish start to the contest that saw Columbus (0-1) jump out to a 7-0 lead as Boozer made his presence felt immediately with the game's first five points.

Columbus led at the end of the first period 19-13 and held a 31-29 advantage at the half. Duncanville didn't capture its first lead of the contest until going up 25-23 after Jackson Prince went 3 of 3 from the free throw line mid-way through the second quarter.

The heavyweight programs traded blows in the third quarter as Columbus opened the second half with a basket from Malik Abdullahi to extend its lead to four points. Duncanville countered with an 8-0 run to take a 37-33 advantage before the Explorers punched back with a 6-0 run of their own to take back a 39-37 lead mid-way through the third period.

An and-one from Arizona signee K.J. Lewis gave Duncanville a 40-39 lead that it wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the contest and sparked a 10-4 run to close the third quarter.

After leading 47-43 to begin the fourth quarter, the Panthers immediately extended their advantage to 10 points with a 6-0 run to begin the final frame ignited by four points from Holland.

Boozer responded with a personal 7-2 run to cut the deficit back to 55-50. Holland broke up that run with a steal followed by an and-one conversion at the other end with 3:30 remaining in the game.

Boozer went right back to work, scoring five points over the next two minutes to cut the Duncanville lead to 59-57 before fouling out with 1:22 remaining.

After Boozer fouled out, the Explorers failed to score a basket until the closing seconds of the contest. Duncanville converted free throws in the closing minute to finish out the 62-59 triumph.

Showing its experience, Duncanville forced 22 Columbus turnovers and connected on 23 of 29 opportunities from the charity stripe. The Panthers shot just 18 of 56 from the field and 3 of 21 from 3-point range.

Columbus returns to action tomorrow night at the same event against Wyatt (Fort Worth, Texas) at 3 p.m.