Houston Bellaire 42 Duncanville 39

Rick Nelson's Texas Jamboree has been another great success this 2009 Thanksgiving. There were some great matchups, both of teams as well as intriguing individual who went head to head. It culminates tonight with two big time programs with big time players. Duncanville features 2010 6'11" Perry Jones (Baylor). Look for him to be the #1 pick in the NBA draft in 2011 after a courtesy year with the Bears.

Bellaire, as reported last week in winning the McDonald's Invitational is loaded. P 6'8" Toby Oyedeji (Texas A&M), 2011 WG 6'5" Sheldon McClellan (Texas), 2010 G 6'3" Jamel Outler (Texas Tech) gives Coach Bruce Glover a Murderer's Row of talent.

Former Texas Assistant Ken McDonald is the prime beneficiary of his Lone Star connections as he's landed Houston Yates WG Brandon "Snap" Peters, one of the most explosive athletes Clutch City has ever seen. Then for good measure, throw in 2010 P Kene Anyigbo of Bellaire who has also commited to Western Kentucky and McDonald has to be sitting in front of his Thanksgiving turkey with a huge grin on his face.

At the half Duncanville holds the edge 28-16. 2011 P 6'7" Luke Mergerson shows signs of being a nice prospect for The Ville. The story thus far though is just the PRESENCE of Perry Jones. He's not filling up the stat sheet but no matter. It's the consensus at the press table that Jones will be an increedible pro. He's so skilled, long, athletic and agile that it's scary. He can guard the 2 through 5 positions on the court and reminds me of Tracy Mcgrady but a better ball handler with superior court vision than a younger McGrady had. In the intangible category, Jones seems like a grounded young man who is unselfish and a good team mate. It's a heck of a recipe for future success.

With the help of a couple of home cooked calls Perry Jones is resigned to the bench for most of the 3rd quarter. This, coupled with a couple of turnovers off of pressure Bellaire has narrowed the gap to 34-29 after 3 quarters. A slashing bucket by 2010 G Sebastian Douglass followed by an Anyigbo dunk and it's now a one point D'ville lead. Jones quickly returns to the game with a little over 6 minutes left. He has 4 fouls. Duncanville's fate rests in his ability to finish the game. With 3:25 left Bellaire leads by one. The interesting matchup is 6'11" Perry Jones guarding a 6'5" elite level wing in Sheldon McClellan (Texas) on the perimeter. Jones is doing something that few have been able to accomplish. He's able to keep McClellan from getting to the rim by keeping him dribbling laterally.

The last couple of minutes have been McClellan's. A 15 foot jumper, and a tip in has given Bellaire a 40-39 lead with less than a minute to play. He has a chance to put it away at the FT line with 8 seconds left, shooting the one and one. McClellan hits them both. Bellaire 42 Duncanville 39