By Tom Waddill
Sports Editor
KATY — The Hornets gave Houston Yates everything they had. Huntsville’s best was not good enough.
Yates, the No. 1 team in Texas and in the United States, blew open a close game in the fourth quarter, running away from the Hornets 103-74.
Down by only 12 to start the final period, Huntsville (24-15) ran out of gas against a much deeper Lions squad that got scoring from 11 players.
Senior Brandon Peters led the Lions (33-0) with 28 points. Senior post Alex Davis added 15, while junior Trey Dickerson and sophomore Clyde Santee tossed in 14 apiece.
Yates, which pressed full-court the entire game, went on a 10-0 run to open the fourth quarter, and the Hornets had nothing left in their tank. Huntsville, which led the defending state champs for most of the first half, simply could not match the Lions’ depth and athleticism.
“They’re the number one team in the country, but is there another country with a better team?” Hornets coach Larry Carlson said of the Lions. “If not, they’re the best team on the planet, in high school at least.
“They finally made that run,” Carlson added. “That’s what we wanted to avoid. Their press is extremely tough, but the thing that really makes them great is their phenomenal physical conditioning. They can press the dog out of you for 32 minutes. Not 31 minutes and 59 seconds. Thirty-two minutes.”
Huntsville, the second-place team from District 18-4A, did a nice job against the “best team on the planet.” In front of a capacity crowd of 6,500 and more, with fans standing on the back wall of the Merrell Center, the Hornets stood up to a monster challenge.
Led by senior Jeremy Laday, who had 17 points in the first half and finished with 29 and eight rebounds, the Hornets hung with Yates.
Huntsville took a 26-20 lead early in the second quarter on a strong move to the basket by senior Justin Gilbert.
Yates, which struggled early from behind the arc, started finding the range after Peters swished a pair of 3-pointers.
The Lions took a 36-34 advantage when Peters turned a steal into a dunk late in the second quarter. Huntsville never got the lead back.
Because of their tireless effort, though, the Hornets stayed close through three periods. Laday, Gilbert, senior guard Marvin Dunbar, sophomore Kriston Minor and junior Michael Jones helped the Hornets stay within striking distance.
Dunbar’s scoop shot made it 58-51 midway through the third period. Yates opened up a 13-point lead, but the Hornets answered with a layup from senior James Driscoll and a 3-pointer from junior Trevion Byrd to cut the Lions’ lead to eight.
Peters, who scored 25 points in the first half, drained a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter. Fatigued, the Hornets could not keep up the pace.
“They’re so deep,” Dunbar said of the Lions. “All 12 of their players played and all of them contributed. It’s very tiring, but we gave it everything we’ve got.”
Gilbert, who scored eight points and yanked down 11 rebounds, said the Hornets let the Lions get too many second and third chances, especially late in the game when Huntsville’s legs were getting weary.
“We’ve got to finish shots and we’ve got to rebound,” Gilbert said. “Rebounding was a big key.”
Yates won the rebounding battle, but not by much (41-36). The Lions did grab seven offensive boards in the fourth period.
Huntsville also turned the ball over 33 times, eight in the last eight minutes.
“You’ve got to play a perfect game to beat these guys,” Carlson said. “Your subs have got to give you something and calls have to go your way. I’m not going to complain about the officiating. Those guys did a good job, but I wish we would have gotten a few more calls.”
While four Lions scored in double figures and two more were a basket away, Laday was the only Huntsville player who reached double digits. Driscoll and Gilbert both had eight; Dunbar, Minor and Jones each had six and Jason Nwisienyi added four. Byrd scored three, while Adrian Boudreaux and Shaquille Ross both scored two.
“I think we shocked a lot of people, the way we played tonight,” Gilbert said. “We had a little lead on them.”
Yates will face La Marque, which knocked off Brenham on Friday, in the Region III championship game at 7 p.m. today at the Merrell Center. The winner will advance to the Class 4A state tournament next weekend in Austin.
La Marque takes care of Cubs
In Friday’s first semifinal game, third-ranked La Marque held off Brenham 66-55.
Julien Lewis, a junior who is already committed to play at Texas, led the Cougars (34-2) with 15 points. Junior Quevin Cams tossed in 11 more points for La Marque.
Brenham trailed the entire game, but the Cubs hung tough and got within four late in the third quarter when senior guard Jeremy Hall fought for an offensive rebound, scored and was fouled.
Hall hit the subsequent free throw and narrowed the Cougars’ lead to 45-41, but La Marque closed the period on a 9-2 run.
Brenham (28-6) never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
Junior Chris Hull and senior Terrell Reese each scored 14 points for Brenham.
