After Beaumont United Terrance Arceneaux #23 hit a three point shot inOT, Dallas Kimball Ronald Gustus #11 walks off the court. UIL boys Class 5A basketball state championship game on Friday, March 12, 2021 at the Alamodome.
Ron Cortes/Contributor
SAN ANTONIO — When it looked like Beaumont United’s historic basketball season would be coming to a tragic end, junior forward Terrance Arceneaux came to the rescue with a game-tying three-pointer with a second left in regulation, followed by the game-winning three-pointer in overtime to secure the Class 5A state title.
Arceneaux’s heroics for the Timberwolves secured a 71-70 overtime win over Dallas Kimball at the Alamodome. It's United's first state championship since the school's formation three years ago.
With a little more than two minutes remaining in overtime, neither team had scored, but in the blink of an eye, the game turned into a back-and-forth affair. With 27 seconds left in the extra period, Kimball went up by two points at 70-68 after an airball 3-point attempt fell to Jayden Blair, who subsequently laid the ball back for the lead.
After a United timeout, the Timberwolves inbounded the ball and found Arceneaux at the top of the arc with six seconds remaining. He took one left-hand dribble, took a quick glance at the clock, pulled up and in rhythm sank the game-winning 3-pointer, etching his name into the Beaumont basketball history books.
“The game wasn’t over even though we were down. They left some time on the clock,” Arceneaux said. “When I go the ball, I knew that if I got the shot up, it had a good percentage of going in.”
United’s state-final win marks the end of the city of Beaumont’s 20-year basketball title drought and recorded the second-ever undefeated season by a Beaumont ISD program. The only other Beaumont team to go undefeated was Beaumont Ozen (36-0) in 2001.
“It’s special,” United head coach David Green said. “Once we were undefeated at the end of the year, I said, ‘We can actually do this. We can actually win all of our games and finish the season undefeated.’ They did a good job of finishing, believing and taking it one game at a time. We finished the course, and they can’t take that from us. We are 31-0, and we will be remembered for a long time.”
Before Arceneaux’s game-winning shot in overtime, it looked like Kimball was going to spoil United’s historic season down the stretch in regulation. After leading by as many in the 11 points in the second half, United saw its lead dwindle in the fourth quarter.
Two 3-pointers by Kimball guard Arterio Morris in the final two minutes of regulation gave Knights a 59-58 lead — the first Kimball lead since the first quarter. Morris finished with a team-high 19 points.
The teams traded buckets in the final 90 seconds of regulation before the Knights took a 64-61 lead with less than 15 seconds remaining. After United sophomore Trealyn Porchia missed two key free throws and Kimball split a pair of free throws themselves, it looked all but over for the Timberwolves.
With four seconds left in regulation, Arceneaux dribbled down the left side and drained the game-tying 3-pointer with two defenders in his face. Arceneaux finished with a game-high 24-points and was named the game’s MVP.
“I am confident in my shot,” Arceneaux said. “I knew the shot was win or go home.”
Porchia and sophomore guard Wesley Yates added 17 and 16 points respectively. Porchia’s eight third-quarter points and aggressiveness on the offensive boards kept the Knights at bay in the third quarter.
Chauncey Gibson (10), Jerqualen Parks (13) and Kyron Henderson (11) all finished in double figures for the Knights.
In the first half, the difference came down to knocking down shots and scoring on second-chance opportunities. United shot 50% in all of the first quarter and much of the second. Yates’ 8 points after eight minutes of play gave the Timberwolves a 5-point lead — which included a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Kimball struggled from the field for most of the first half and had only converted one field goal for most of the second quarter. Despite snagging 13 offensive rebounds compared to United’s six, the Knights only scored six points to the Timberwolves’ 10.
United dominated much of the second quarter with its suffocating full-court defense, which resulted in six forced turnovers and a 17-point lead with 1:43 remaining in the half. But the Knights found some success late shooting from the field as they converted on three consecutive possessions — which included two 3-pointers — to cut the lead to 9 points.
Yates and Acreneaux led all scorers with 10 points each and gave United a 37-28 lead entering the locker room. Kimball had zero players in double-digits scoring at halftime.
In the second half, United’s first-half lead evaporated, and it took two big 3-pointers by Arceneaux to secure the 5A state title for the Timberwolves.