After a valiant second-half rally, the Cole boys basketball team saw a late lead slip away in the UIL Class 3A State championship game.
Cole battles Dallas Madison in the UIL Class 3A State championship game in the Alamodome on March 12, 2022.– The defending state champion Cole boys basketball team entered the Alamodome ready to take on Dallas Madison with a state title on the line in a matchup two years in the making. The Cougars and Trojans missed out on an opportunity to face each other for the 2020 title due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and each program entered this game as the first- and second-ranked teams in Texas.
The Cougars started the game on the back foot. Geter scored six of the game’s first eight points, as Madison built an 8-0 lead. After a timeout, Blackmore got the Cougars on the board with a traditional three-point play, but the Trojans still controlled the flow of the game and led 15-6 after one. Kenny Atunrase scored a basket early in the second to cap a 7-0 run that pulled Cole within two, but the Trojans quickly pieced together a 6-0 run of their own to reestablish control.
Both teams traded baskets in the final frame, until Atunrase put Cole in front 47-46 with a three-point play the old-fashioned way. Silas Livingston got a floater to fall and Ray scored on another driving layup to give the Cougars a 51-48 lead with 1:37 left in regulation. But on their next possession, Cole turned the ball over and Latrelle Wright made them pay by getting a friendly bounce for a three that tied the game at 51-51.
“I thought it was a great game,” Cole head coach Noe Cantu said. “They jumped out to a lead early. We battled back. That’s what great teams do. They just made a couple more plays at the end. We’ve been here four years in a row. It’s been a great run. I try to tell these guys, ‘Don’t ever take anything for granted.’ Success is not a continuum.
“We worked hard all season, we made it this far, and teams don’t usually make it this far,” Silas said. “I know the fans got our backs. I know my teammates got our backs. Even though we didn’t get the first-place trophy like we wanted, we still got second.”Highlights from the State Tournament coming later this afternoon on air and online!
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