High school basketball: Duncanville locks down national No. 1 ranking with 69-49 victory over McKinney in Texas Class 6A state title game

One night after trailing by 20 points and seeing national title hopes flash before its eyes, No. 1 Duncanville left no doubt Saturday with a 69-49 triumph over McKinney to capture the program's third consecutive Texas Class 6A state title game at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Duncanville (35-1) started hot from the field, connecting on 19 of 30 field goals and 5 of 10 3-pointers to jump out to a 46-21 halftime lead. McKinney was just 1 of 9 from 3-point range with 10 turnovers in the first 16 minutes.

Undaunted, McKinney (34-6) started the second half on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 46-32 before a Cameron Barnes dunk with 1:41 remaining in the third quarter halted the Duncanville drought.

Leading 50-35 entering the fourth quarter, the Panthers were able to build on the lead in the final stanza to earn a lopsided win.

Five-star senior Anthony Black led the way with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Davion Sykes chipped in 13 points and five rebounds. McKinney, making its first state title game appearance, received a game-high 23 points and six rebounds from four-star junior Ja'Kobe Walter.

Duncanville became the first team since Wheatley (Houston) from 1968-1970 to capture three consecutive state titles in the Lone Star State's highest classification. The Panthers reached the semifinal round in 2020 prior to an abrupt end to the season caused by the pandemic.

Under head coach David Peavy, Duncanville is 125-14 over the last four seasons.

This year's team piled up seven out-of-state victories, including signature wins over No. 2 Centennial (Corona, Calif.), No. 11 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) and National Top 20 No. 4 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.). The Panthers also own quality in-state wins over Kimball (Dallas), Mansfield Timberview (Arlington) and Shadow Creek (Pearland). The lone loss came in December against No. 12 Richardson in the Whataburger Invitational title game.

While it won't be official for a few weeks with the release of the final MaxPreps Top 25 of the 2021-22 season, the state title game victory makes Duncanville a lock to be at the top of that list. And is it too early to talk repeat? The Panthers could be loaded again with juniors Ronald Holland, Aric Demings, Cameron Barnes, Ashton Hardaway and Evan Phelps among those expected to return.