Aldine – Hightower passed every test the Sharks threw its way. Including Shadow Creek’s late desperation efforts to press the ball.
The Hurricanes survived a late rally, and Bryce Griggs scored 43 points to send Hightower to its first state championship appearance since 2011 by defeating district rival Shadow Creek, 71-62 in the Class 5A Region III finals at the Campbell Center on Saturday evening.
The No. 2 ranked Hurricanes will join top-ranked Lancaster, who blew-out rival Dallas Kimball, 90-69, Mansfield Timberview, and San Antonio Wagner in San Antonio at the Alamodome next Thursday night at a time to be determined.
With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, guard Kristopher O’Neal sank two free throws to put the Hurricanes ( 32-5) ahead, 66-56. But within seconds, Shadow Creek’s junior guard Will Young drilled a trey to tighten the gap, 66-59. Then Griggs responded by netted two free throws, making the score 68-59.
Sharks’ guard Zy’Tarious Morlte continued this see-saw affair as he connected on the first of two free throws, missed the second shot, as teammate Young grabbed the rebound and scored, giving Shadow Creek a three-point play as it drew within six points, 68-62 with 58.61 left. That would be as close as the Sharks would come as Griggs closed out the game, converting four free throws.
Griggs, which led Hightower with 43 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals, knocked down shots from the perimeter as well as inside, frustrating the Sharks. The sophomore point guard is one of the top players in the state barring any classification.
Robertson chipped in 13 points for the Hurricanes.
Griggs possess the rare ability of a well-rounded player, who shares and shoots the ball with consistency coupled with speed and quickness to defend the most elusive players. He create matchup problems for most teams. Tonight was no different.
In the third quarter, the Hurricanes led by as many as 20 points on three occasions (48-28, 50-30 and 52-32). But Shadow Creek wasn’t ready to throw in the towel, instead, filtering a change that watched Young score five consecutive points— a three-pointer and a close-range jumper. Following, sophomore guard Shawn Jones stole the inbound pass, found Walker under the goal, was fouled as he made good on a layup. He converted the bonus free throw as the stunned Hightower crowd looked on while the lead shrank to twelve 62-40.
With the momentum in hand, the Sharks searched for more.
Shadow Creek (29-4) did not lack effort. At crucial moments, the baskets seemed closed. Several times, it grabbed the offensive board but came away with no points, which made the hole deeper to dig out.
Young led Shadow Creek with 30 points and seven rebounds. Walker poured in 25 points with five boards.
Trailing 20-15 after the first quarter, Griggs led Hightower on an 11-0 run, opening the second quarter. Senior guard Kristopher O’Neal penetrated the lane for a layup. Griggs scored back to back three-pointers to help regain the lead, 23-20. Then he absorbed a foul and converted one of two free throws before tossing a no-look pass to center 6’7″ Ja Robertson for the dunk.
Shadow Creek’s junior guard Ramon Walker stopped the Hurricanes run with a jumper inside the three-point line, but Griggs answered with another deep three, pushing the lead, 29-22.
Young got free under the goal and banked home a loose rebound in efforts to help the Sharks keep pace with Hightower. It proved ineffective as the Hurricanes closed out the half on a 9-0 run. Cameron Collins swished a trey, Griggs scored on a reverse layup, Robertson drained a free throw, and Griggs beat the buzzer with a trey from the right baseline as he trotted to the locker room with Hightower leading 38-24.
The two teams split a game each in the regular season and finished 16-1 in District 24-5A. Shadow Creek won the first meeting, 74-86, and Hightower walked away with 80-64 victory on February 11th.
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