The Beaumont United boys basketball team maintained its poise and outlasted Manvel, 47-42 in the 5A area round on Saturday at Summer Creek High School.
The Timberwolves (27-0) advance to Thursday night’s regional semifinal game against Pflugerville Hendrickson (25-4), which walloped Austin Anderson 66-39 in its 5A quarterfinal Saturday.
Coach David Green’s talented Beaumonters had to adapt to Manvel’s slowdown style. The state’s No. 7-ranked team in 5A, Manvel finished its season at 21-3 and stayed within striking distance at halftime, trailing only 25-19.
Wesley Yates III converted two clutch foul shots with 19 seconds left, increasing United’s final victory cushion from three points to five.
Silsbee knocks out Wharton
Silsbee maintained its focus enough to prowl past Wharton in its 64-55 regional quarterfinal 4A matchup at Dayton.
Silsbee (16-11) enters the 4A regional semifinal against Waco Connally (24-4) on Tuesday night in Madisonville at 7 p.m. Ironically, the game features two runner-up teams in their respective districts.
Coach Joe Sigler’s young Silsbee team jumped ahead by seven points after one quarter. Wharton (15-5) would not falter and would stay within four points after three quarters before Silsbee put the game away.
Huffman-Hargrave rolls past Raiders
Huffman-Hargrave’s seasoned playoff squad realized the importance of a fast start and the Falcons delivered exactly that in its 4A regional quarterfinal win over the Lumberton boys basketball team.
Huffman roared to a 12-0 domination of the first three minutes and coasted to a 68-34 triumph in Cleveland.
The higher-seeded Hargrave team (26-1) will face Carthage in its 4A regional semifinal. District 22-4A champion Lumberton completed an historic campaign at 21-7.
Hull-Daisetta boys advance by Mumford
Hull-Daisetta delivered a second straight upset Saturday, offsetting a fourth-quarter rally in a 64-63 win over Mumford at Willis.
Coach Trent Wallace’s team (8-7) will face Port Aransas in next week’s 2A boys semifinal in Region IV.
BU girls knock off Hendrickson
Veteran coach Tammy Walker-Brown persuaded her Beaumont United girls to tighten up their second-quarter defense and it propelled the team to a 55-44 elimination of Pflugerville Hendrickson in the 5A regional semifinals.
United outscored Hendrickson 21-9 in the second stanza for a 31-20 halftime lead. The United girls improved to 20-0 while snapping Hendrickson’s 24-game winning streak.
The Lady Timberwolves will face College Station (15-2) in next Saturday’s regional championship game in Waller at 3 p.m. College Station advanced in the regional quarterfinals by eliminating Richmond Foster, 55-45.
Lady Hawks stay undefeated
Hardin-Jefferson started slowly but remained undefeated with a 57-47 victory over China Spring in the 4A girls regional semifinal at Madisonville.
The Lady Hawks (28-0) of coach Mike Fogo will meet Waco La Vega in the 4A regional championship game.
H-J trailed 10-9 after one quarter as standout Ashlon Jackson headed to the bench in early foul trouble. The Lady Hawks turned the outcome in their favor, outscoring China Spring 19-11 in the second period and taking a 28-21 halftime edge.
Jackson returned to become a big factor in the victory. Her three-pointer gave H-J a 42-36 lead with five minutes left in the game.
Heart-breaker for Lady Raiders
The Lumberton girls lost a heart-breaking 64-61 game to La Vega on Saturday afternoon in Crockett in the other 4A regional semifinal game.
The District 22-4A champions finished 22-4 and the Lady Raiders were tied 61-61 with 24 seconds left before the Waco-area school converted the winning three points.
Lumberton took a 48-45 lead into the final quarter and kept a 53-49 advantage with 4:25 to play before La Vega came from behind to win.
Tom Halliburton is a freelance writer.