Austin-area boys basketball: As teams battle in area round, St. Michael's aims for state
As many Central Texas UIL boys basketball teams get ready for area-round playoff matches Friday night, St. Michael’s will be going for a TAPPS state title.
The Crusaders cruised past Fort Worth Christian 84-56 in the regional final last Saturday to qualify for the Class 5A state tournament, where they will play Midland Christian in the semifinals at Waco University. With a win, St. Michael’s would face either Laredo St. Augustine or San Antonio Episcopal in the championship game Saturday at 11 a.m.
The Crusaders (25-8) won their first two playoff games by an average of 24.5 points, with Bo Ogden pouring in 20 points, Hayes Pounds tallying 15 and Josh Jones adding 12 in the win over Fort Worth Christian.
For UIL schools, five Class 6A teams are still alive after the first round.
∙ Stony Point topped Anderson 67-46 behind Josiah Moseley’s double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds, with JohnEric Moseley sinking 16 points and Elijah Clemons adding 11.
∙ Johnson beat Vandegrift 56-36 as Quinton Hairston had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds and Jaxson Vandegarde recorded 12 points and eight boards.
∙ San Marcos edged San Antonio Clark 50-46 for its first playoff win since 2015 thanks to Kaden Gumbs’ 20 points and Malik Presley’s 13.
∙ Gavinn Paull’s late shot lifted Westlake to a 45-44 win over Westwood, and Round Rock used a strong defensive effort to get by Lake Travis 37-24.
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Both local District 12-6A teams lost, with Hutto falling to Cedar Hill 47-46 and Weiss dropping a 56-50 contest to DeSoto. JJ Washington and Al Diaby both scored 13 points and Dylon Richardson added 12 for the Hippos.
Friday, Westlake and San Marcos will play each other at Bowie, Stony Point faces Cibolo Steele at Lehman, Johnson takes on New Braunfels at Hays and Round Rock faces San Antonio Reagan at Canyon Lake.
Five 5A teams remain, including Rouse — 25-5A's last team standing
In Class 5A, there are also five local teams who won their first-round games.
∙ Hendrickson hammered Northeast 100-50 as Davion Allen poured in 23 points, Clint Smith sank 18 and Chidera Ukachukwu had 15.
∙ LBJ topped Georgetown 70-56 behind Malkeyce Harris’ 16 points, with CJ Carter tallying 15 and David Blackwood adding 14 to put three Jaguars in double figures.
∙ Rouse was the only District 25-5A team to win its first-round game, a 60-39 blowout over Kerrville Tivy paced by Amarie Haywood’s 27 points and nine rebounds. Devin Brown scored 14 points and Jojo Moore added 10 to join Haywood in double figures for the Raiders.
∙ Connally routed LASA 74-37 and East View defeated McCallum 62-34 to also advance.
More: With two regional girls teams, pride runs deep at Pflugerville and Hendrickson
LBJ lost Thursday night's area matchup against Bryan Rudder 57-53; Rudder will face the Connally-Belton winner next week.
Friday, Connally faces Belton at Burnet, Rouse plays San Antonio Brackenridge at New Braunfels Canyon, Hendrickson faces Killeen Ellison at Liberty Hill and East View takes on A&M Consolidated at Rockdale.
In Class 4A, Thomas Watson scored 15 points to lead Wimberley past San Antonio YMLA 57-44. The Texans play Stafford Friday night at Cuero.
Friday night's area-round playoff games
Class 6A
Johnson vs. New Braunfels, 7 p.m. (Hays)
Round Rock vs. San Antonio Reagan, 7 p.m. (Canyon Lake)
Stony Point vs. Cibolo Steele, 7 p.m. (Lehman)
San Marcos vs. Westlake, 7:30 p.m. (Bowie)
Class 5A
Connally vs. Belton, 7 p.m. (Burnet)
Hendrickson vs. Killeen Ellison, 7 p.m. (Liberty Hill)
Rouse vs. San Antonio Brackenridge, 7 p.m. (New Braunfels Canyon)
East View vs. A&M Consolidated, 8 p.m. (Rockdale)
Class 4A
Wimberley vs. Stafford, 6 p.m. (Cuero)
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Handful of Class 6A, Class 5A boys basketball teams set for playoffs
