Top-Ranked Dallas Triple A Academy Too Much For Brownsboro + Eliminates Bears In Regional Semis

COMMERCE -- It would've taken a full, 32-minute effort from heavy underdog Brownsboro to pull off a shocking upset of top-ranked Dallas Triple A Academy.

A dreadful opening half cost the Bears any hope of that.

Triple A Academy, led by 6-3 senior guard and Baylor commit King McClure, built a 22-point halftime lead and costed to an 83-59 victory over Brownsboro in their Class 4A Region II semifinal Friday night at Texas A&M-Commerce's Field House.

The Stallions (26-5) will face No. 3 Dallas Madison (24-7) for the regional title and berth in next week's UIL state tournament in San Antonio at noon Saturday back in Commerce.

Brownsboro (27-5) ended its season in the regional semifinals for the second consecutive season.

"This group will go down in history because they play so well together," said Brownsboro coach Brent Smith. "They enjoy playing basketball, they love the game, they get along so well. We won 27 ballgames this season, and a lot of big wins along the way. They've got a lot to be proud of."

The Bears took themselves out of any shot at pulling the upset with a dreadful first half, which included 11 turnovers against Triple A's full-court defensive pressure.

"We had some misalignments with the press a couple times," Smith said. "And I think their size hurt us a little bit from their diamond press, and I think it confused our kids there for a minute. I was disappointed in that, and I thought we shot the ball too quick several times when we did break the press. We talked about being patient in the halfcourt, and unfortunately we didn't calm down until the second half."

Brownsboro didn't execute offensively, but McClure was also busy making life miserable for the Bears on the defensive end. The sharp-shooter scored 40 points -- 20 in each half -- and accounted for five of the Stallions' eight 3-pointers on the night.

"He's a special talent, he really is," Smith said of McClure. "He's got good size, and anybody with that skill level and that much size and plays on the perimeter … he's bigger than our post players. When he elevates to shoot his 3, when he's shooting the ball like that, we really had no answer for it."

DeAndrus Williams had 12 points, six rebounds and two steals for Triple A, while Tyler Singleton added 12 points, five boards and three assists. Dalyn Mumphrey had a big night as well with eight points and a team-best 13 rebounds.

Triple A enjoyed a massive statistical advantage in both rebounding and free-throw shooting. The Stallions outrebounded Brownsboro, 42-23, and went 21-of-31 from the foul line, while the Bears were just 5-for-10.

McClure's shot from long range just before the first-half buzzer sounded gave Triple A a comfortable 45-23 lead at halftime. The Stallions' lead was as big as 23 points moments earlier when Mumphrey charged into the lane to thrown down a furious dunk.

"We just talked about at halftime how we didn't play up to our potential," Smith said. "We were a much better team than what we showed the first half, and our kids were really disappointed in the way we played in the first half."

Brownsboro put forth a much better effort in the second half, beginning with the first three minutes of the third quarter, in which the Bears went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 45-32.

But Triple A was able to keep the Bears at arm's length the rest of the way. The closet Brownsboro came for the remainder of the game was 11 points -- a 62-51 deficit with 6:17 remaining in the fourth quarter.

"In the second half we came out and settled down a little bit," Smith said. "We handled their press, shot the ball pretty well, and got some easy buckets."

The loss overshadowed a stellar performance from Brownsboro junior guard Tamrick Pace, who finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Chris Givens added 10 points and two assists, while Kenneth Woods and Xavier Richardson registered nine points apiece.

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No. 1 Dallas Triple A Academy 83, No. 23 Brownsboro 59

Boys Class 4A Region II Semifinal
At Texas A&M-Commerce's Field House

Triple A                     23    22    15    23    --    83
Brownsboro              11    12    19    17    --    59
TRIPLE A (26-5) -- King McClure, 40; Tyler Singleton, 12; DeAndrus Williams, 12; Dalyn Mumphrey, 8; Greg Smith, 6; Isaiah Washington, 3; Chantz Williams, 2.
BROWNSBORO (27-5) -- Tamrick Pace, 20; Chris Givens, 10; Xavier Richardson, 9; Kenneth Woods, 9; Clay McCoy, 6; Logan Compton, 3; Wyatt Rinehart, 2.
THREE-POINT GOALS -- Triple A: McClure (5), D. Williams (2), Smith. Brownsboro: Givens (2), McCoy (2), Richardson (2), Compton, Woods.