Duncanville outlasts Bellaire 54-52 to capture sixth state title in Texas

In a low-scoring game that was closely contested throughout, Duncanville escaped with a 54-52 victory over Bellaire Saturday night in the Class 6A Division 1 state championship game paced by 23 points and six rebounds from four-star senior TCU commit Kayden Edwards.

The win marked the Panthers sixth state championship in program history and third since 2019. Duncanville also won the state title on the court in 2022, but it was later forced to forfeit after being ruled to have used an eligible player.

In a game that saw five ties and six lead changes, Bellaire edged ahead 10-9 at the end of the first quarter before Duncanville took a narrow 22-21 lead into the half and inched the margin to 38-36 entering the fourth quarter after Edwards knocked down an off-balance mid-range shot to end the third quarter.

Duncanville began to gain momentum to begin the fourth quarter as the Panthers opened up a 47-39 advantage with 5:35 remaining after a 9-3 spurt. Edwards scored five points in the run, while senior guard Gary Jones and sophomore guard Christopher Hunt Jr. each converted layups. Bellaire refused to go away down the stretch as a 3-point jumper from five-star Duke signee Shelton Henderson cut the deficit to 49-45 before the teams traded layups.

Following a layup from sophomore guard Beckham Black to give Duncanville a six-point edge with 2:48 to play, Henderson banked home his second 3-pointer of the quarter to cut the deficit to 53-50 with 2:06 remaining.

Following a made free throw on the other end, Henderson rebounded multiple of his own misses to cut the lead to 54-52 with 47 seconds remaining.

Although Bellaire had an open look to win the game from the 3-point line in the right corner, a shot by sophomore guard Jadarian Willams rimmed out in the closing seconds.

Henderson finished with game-highs of 25 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and three steals while shooting 10 of 21 from the field and 3 of 7 from the 3-point line for Bellaire, which finished the season with a record of 26-11.

Both teams pulled off massive upsets in the state semifinals earlier in the week to reach the final as Duncanville knocked off No. 8 Allen 77-74 and Bellaire took down No. 4 Brennan 65-57.

Duncanville (26-7) closed out the season on a 10-game winning streak and won 17 of its final 18 games. Hunt chipped in 14 points on 6 of 10 from the field and senior forward Cam Smith piled up 9 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.