No. 1 The Woodlands Christian Academy allowed only nine first-half points and used a third-quarter run to pull away from CTCS, sending the Lions to a 58-37 loss in a TAPPS Class 3A regional playoff game at Tomball Concordia Lutheran.
The loss ended the best season in school history for CTCS, which got 25 points from junior Clay Crews. The Lions won the school’s first district championship with a perfect 4-3A record and finished 24-5. CTCS posted its first-ever playoff win by beating Dallas Lakehill Prep.
TWCA returns to the state semifinal round for the second straight season. The Warriors advanced to face Carrollton Prince of Peace or Midland Classical on Friday in San Antonio.
Despite a 14-point halftime deficit and a cold shooting night, the Lions still were hanging around midway through the third quarter.
Crews drove to the basket, sneaked in a layup and made the foul shot to bring the Lions within 10 points with 5:26 remaining in the third.
After slowing their usually fast-paced offense to counter TWCA in the first half, the Lions got back to their running game to start the second. Along with pushing the ball up the floor, CTCS also attacked the basket, something it hadn’t done much in the first half.
That change to a more familiar pace helped spark the 8-2 CTCS run that pulled the Lions within 10.
“They had made a pretty good run, so we knew we needed to come out fast in the third,” Crews said. “We tried to keep it close the whole game. We knew if we could keep it close, we could pull out the upset. We just couldn’t pull it out this time.”
The problem with switching back to their fast-paced offense was that it played right into the Warriors’ hands.
TWCA’s height advantage in the paint helped keep CTCS off the glass and enabled the Warriors to do what they do best - run in transition. A 13-4 TWCA run in the final 4 minutes of the third helped the Warriors pull away for good.
The Warriors beat the Lions back, not allowing them to set up their zone defense that stymied TWCA’s post game early on.
But back to its running game in the second half, the Warriors got their posts involved, both shooting the ball and dishing to open teammates on the perimeter.
“Their size got us banged up a little,” CTCS coach Nuni Venegas said. “If you just look at them, they’re 30 or 40 pounds bigger. I think that started to get to us.”
CTCS got off to another slow start, trailing by as many as 17 in the first half.
The Lions’ zone defense did its job, holding TWCA’s two post players - Derek Johnson and Josh Hall - to a combined five points in the first half. But packing all those Lions in the paint left the Warriors open on the perimeter. TWCA’s guards scored 20 of the team’s 25 first-half points.
“I knew they were a good shooting team,” Venegas said, “but if I was going to give them something, it wasn’t going to be a high-percentage shot.”
The Warriors were at their coldest in the second quarter, scoring seven points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Even with a strong first half from his guards, TWCA coach Darrel Johnson was disappointed with his team’s shooting.
“Against a team that packs it in the paint like that, we have to be able to knock down our shots,” he said.
But had the Lions been able to knock down their own perimeter shots, they might have been closer than 14 at the half.
CTCS made just three field goals in the first half, shooting 17 percent from the floor. Crews had seven of the team’s nine points.
The Lions also slowed their offense in the first half, walking the ball up the floor and taking 10-15 seconds off the clock before running a play. Coming in, the Lions figured they stood a better chance if they limited TWCA’s possessions.
“It was hard to get used to,” CTCS guard Nash Ingram. “We’re so used to running it every game, then once Coach told us we had to start walking it up, it was hard. I was glad when he told us to run again.”
Johnson led the Warriors with 13 points.
CTCS will return all but two players - Thomas Farnham and Marshall Hugo - from this year’s team. But if the Lions make a playoff run next season, it won’t be in TAPPS 3A. As a result of realignment, CTCS will play 2A basketball next season.
“The guys are grateful to be here,” Venegas said. “Every year we want to go farther and now they know what it feels like to get here and play somebody that big.”
rschneider@temple-telegram.com
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