Friday, February 25, 2011

Texas 4A & 5A Playoffs: Alamo Heights, Austin High Win

Austin High 51  Klein 43
It took Austin High 50 years between playoff wins.  That ended last week as they beat Leander.  Apparently this new habit of winning is becoming contagious as the travelled to College Station and beat a tough Klein team 51-43.  What was more impresive is that they did it while getting an off night from PG Eric McClellan.  Bobby Gonzalez stepped up and led the way for the Maroons with 19 points & Alex Reinking chipped in with 10.  Pending the outcome of the Spring Dekaney -Austin Bowie game it's a fair bet that Austin High will be forced to beat their district mates, Bowie 3 times in a row to advance.

Back in the fall, Austin Bowie came to my D1 Nation Sweet 16 Fall Showcase and you could tell that they had all the pieces, including chemistry to make a potentially deep run in the playoffs.

San Antonio Alamo Heights 48  Austin LBJ 45

Traditional power Austin LBJ and San Antonio Alamo Heights were in an epic battle last night in what amounted to a road game last night for the Jags with the game played at San Antonio's Littleton Gym.  It was nip and tuck the whole way with the pace more to Alamo Heights liking. 

The really cool thing about high school basketball is that there's always room for new heroes.  After having missed the front end of a one and one in the final minute, Alamo Heights' Senior PG Clay Boggess saw LBJ score and take a one point lead.  Goat, right?  Wrong!  With 10 seconds left, Boggess found redemption as he knocked down the 3 pointer which slayed the LBJ dragon.  Hero!  It also made dinner a lot more pleasant last night at the Boggess household as Head Coach Charlie Boggess had to be tickled with his player & his son Clay.

2012 P 6'7" Shelby Lane got it done all game long for AH, as he scored 21 points, while 2012 W Jeffrey Rodewold added 12 points.  Seniors D.D. Byrd led LBJ with 11 points & Robert Lee added 9 in his Swan Song.  "June Bug" Lee has the potential to be a great next level player.  He's ultra competitive and is an explosive combo guard that can get to the rack and really thump it on you.