At the beginning of this week, Brennan and Allen appeared to be headed toward a clash of 2025 high school basketball superpowers in the Texas 6A D1 championship game. Ranked No. 3 and 4 in the Super 25 national rankings, respectively, the two had a chance to not only go for the Texas championship but be in the running for a national title.
No more. Neither of the two made it out of the semifinals, as Duncanville beat Allen on a game that came down to free throws and Bellaire built a big enough lead in the first three quarters that the team could withstand a late Brennan surge.
The championship, which will take place at 7 p.m. Central Time on Saturday at the Alamodome, will come down to 26-7 Duncanville and 26-10 Bellaire.
It's two teams with highly different histories on the hardwood.
Duncanville: 'Losing isn't an option'
The Panthers will be looking to get back to the top after winning the state championships in 2019 and 2021, a title in 2022 that was stripped due to an ineligible player, and a Super 25 national championship in 2023 on the back of No. 1 recruit Ron Holland.
TCU commit Kayden Edwards, who has been with the team since that 2022 season, is now a leader in this program.
Through the 27 games in MaxPreps' profile, the four-star recruit averaging 25.9 points per game, including a 39-point game against The Colony, a 41-point game against Arizona-based Bella Vista, and a 45-point outburst against Oak Ridge. He has helped the team average 76.5 points per game, outscoring opponents by 15 per contest.
Edward posted 15 points in the 77-74 semifinal win over Allen, supplementing the team-high 19-point outings from sophomores Beckham Black and Christopher Hunt Jr. The team's youth has been anything but a hindrance this season, as Hunt, a guard, is second with 13.6 points per game, and Black, a four-star point guard and the brother of Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black, averages 9.3 points and a team-best 5.3 assists per game. Black made key free throws down the stretch against Allen.
Edwards told the Dallas Morning News that he and Holland have spoken about the title game.
“He’s definitely reached out to me just telling me to stay calm," Edwards said to the outlet. "He’ll emphasize the fact that losing isn’t an option."
Bellaire: 'I trust you'
Bellaire's run to the championship game has been anything but expected. The Cardinals were not in the top-25 of the Texas rankings at the beginning of the postseason, according to the Houston Chronicle. They have never won a championship before. They've never even had a championship appearance. The 66-57 win over Brennan was the first time the program had appeared in the semifinals, per Click2Houston.
Despite it being their first semifinal appearance, the Cardinals didn't play scared. They roared out to a 14-4 start, were up 28-10 at halftime, and held onto a 49-31 lead after three quarters. Brennan came surging back in the fourth quarter, cutting that 18-point deficit to five, but Bellaire stood strong in the final minute of the game. The Cardinals held the Bears to just 24.4% shooting from the field and 5-for-34 shooting from behind the arc, according to MaxPreps.
Now Bellaire, which has won 10 games in a row, according to the Chronicle, is one win away from glory.
Five-star Duke commit Shelton Henderson has been a key player for Bellaire this year, and he was masterful against Brennan: According to MaxPreps, he posted 26 points, 20 rebounds, and four assists in the victory. LJ Andrews, a three-star recruit, added 16 points.
Longtime coach Bruce Glover, who has been at the helm for 23 seasons, plans to retire after this season. He has his team one win away from the greatest way to step down. He told the Chronicle that the team's motto this year is "I trust you."
“I understand that now, because it works for us,” Glover said. “So instead of me trying to bump heads with them and be macho … no, I just want to win and let these kids be who they are and accomplish this thing. This is it for them.”