When it was over, it was established for the second straight year that Canyon ISD’s boys’ teams will leave their mark on the Region I-4A Tournament this weekend at Lubbock Christian University’s Rip Griffin Center.
Everybody knew going in that at least one of CISD’s trhe high schools would have a spot in the region semis as established No. 14 Canyon faced upstart No. 18 West Plains in the nightcap of the doubleheader. Experience won out, as Canyon cruised to a 56-36 victory and a third straight trip to the region tourney.
That followed the other 4-4A matchup between Randall and Hereford in the night’s first game. It was never really a contest, as No. 3 Randall did to Hereford what it did to practically every district opponent this season, rolling to a 91-49 win for a second straight trip to the region tournament.
The second game contained more intrigue since not only was it a matchup between two very different CISD teams, but the two teams split in the regular season. West Plains won the second meeting at home by five points to salvage the district split.
“I don’t know that we did anything better,” Canyon coach Travis Schulte said. “That last game was just strange. We shot 50 percent from the free throw line, (West Plains) made 10 3s, and it’s just basketball. I don’t know that there was anything that we did better, our kids stepped up tonight and did really, really good.”
Canyon (22-10) didn’t really dispatch of West Plains (25-9) until the fourth quarter, when the Eagles scored 12 of their 14 points from the free throw line. However, it never seemed like they weren’t in control of the game.
As a senior from last year’s region finalists, Lunsford knows all about the importance of momentum.
“In the playoffs just very well knowing it could be your last game is huge,” said Lunsford, who had 13 points. “A call, a turnover, an unconstested shot, that could be the change of the season. This is what we’ve been working for the entire season and really our entire careers. I’ve been playing basketball since I was three.”
The third quarter was even, but Canyon still had the upper hand with a 42-32 lead at the end of the period. Still, the Wolves appeared to carry some momentum into the fourth quarter when Ayden Rodriguez ended the third quarter by hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
However, that was the last field goal of the season for West Plains. The Wolves only managed four free throws in the final quarter and turned the ball over several times.
“(The Eagles) did a great job disrupting our flow on offense,” West Plains coach Kendall Cogburn said. “We never did get settled in tonight. I think we kind of got over (playoff jitters) when we got that first win. I thought we came out ready to play.”
Ian Armstrong had a game-high 15 points for Canyon and Kelson Jones scored 12 as an inside presence. Kaden Hooker was the lone double-digit scorer for West Plains with 12 points.
Comparatively speaking, it was a tougher game than Randall had seen in a while. That didn’t mean the Raiders weren’t still firmly in control, as they never trailed and held a 40-25 lead going into the locker room.
Randall led by as many as 18 points in the first half and could have been ahead by more but had some trouble finishing at the rim early. It may have been an indication of the fatigue of having to play a team a third time after winning the first two matchups.
“I didn’t want to play a team three times, it’s never good,” said Randall interim coach Trevor Johnson, who has taken over the program since coach Leslie Broadhurst is being treated for a brain tumor. “We took that as a challenge. We played Canyon three times last year and won that third time (in the region final).”
K.J. Thomas led the Raiders with a game-high 34 points, as Hereford never got closer than 10 in the second half. Thomas scored 13 in the fourth quarter to end any notions that the Raiders were toying with the Whitefaces, as only clearing the bench in the final minutes kept the Raiders from reaching the century mark again.
Randall forced the tempo at both ends of the floor and Hereford simply couldn’t keep pace.
“We practice hard every week no matter who we’re playing, and that’s why we’re prepared for games,” said Thomas, who passed the 2,500-point career mark in the win. “Coach Johnson talked about all week how hard it is to beat a good team three times and that’s why we got the job done tonight.”
Juan Bermudez scored 11 points in the second quarter to keep the Herd within shouting distance in the second quarter, but didn’t score any more. Diego Villegas also had 11 and Diego Ornelas added 10.
The CISD teams know who they’ll be playing in Lubbock on Friday in the region semifinals. Randall will play Krum at 6 p.m. and Canyon will take on Decatur at 8 p.m.
Last season, Canyon and Randall met in the region finals, as the Eagles made it for the second straight season. This time, Randall pulled out the win to go to the state tournament for the first time in school history.
Randall swept the Eagles this season, as the Raiders did to everybody else in district as well.