JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
The Randolph High School boys basketball team fell short of their dream of winning the state title March 14, losing to the Brock Eagles, 37-32, in the Class 3A state tournament final at the Alamodome.
Randolph gave Brock, the top-ranked team in the state, all they could handle. The Ro-Hawks (31-4) were ahead 32-31 with 3:29 left in the game before Brock (37-2) scored the last six points to win its fourth state title in school history.
The Ro-Hawks advanced to their first-ever state title game after defeating the Childress Bobcats, 31-29, in the state semifinals March 12 at the Alamodome.
Randolph appeared in its fourth state tournament in school history and their first since 1995.
Randolph coach Tim Gendron said the Ro-Hawks accomplished a lot this season in making it all the way to the state title game.
"They're champions in my eyes," Gendron said. "We did something no other Randolph team had done before. We reached our goals of getting to state and then we started to live out our dream. We just fell a little bit short in our dream of finishing out."
Senior center Bryan London scored 15 points in the championship game to lead the Ro-Hawks. London scored six of his 15 points in the third quarter, helping Randolph ovecome an 18-14 halftime deficit to take a 26-26 lead at the end of the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, London scored on a three-point play to give the Ro-Hawks their last lead of the game, at 32-31, when he hit a turnaround shot off the glass and converted the subsequent free throw.
After Lance Ewell connected on a jumper to put Brock up 33-32, the Ro-Hawks failed to score in the last three minutes of the game, missing four shots and turning the ball over twice in their last six possessions.
Defensively, Gendron said the Ro-Hawks did what they needed to do in clamping down on the fast-paced Brock offense. Randolph held Brock to its lowest point total of the season.
With Randolph controlling the tempo, the title game turned into a defensive match-up as both teams struggled offensively. Brock converted on 29.8 percent of its shot attempts, with Randolph shooting 27.9 percent.
In the state semifinal match-up against Childress, Jordan Williams made both of his free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining for the game-winning points. Childress' Luke Darter attempted a last second game-winning three-pointer, but Randolph's Braelin Barnes got to Darter in time to block it.
Barnes and Williams hit key three-pointers as part of an 8-0 fourth quarter run for Randolph in the state semifinal game, turning a 22-21 deficit into a 29-22 lead with 5:56 left in the game.
London and Williams were selected to the Class 3A all-state tournament team by members of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
London, Barnes, Shaun Jackson and Caleb Hentz were the Ro-Hawks only four seniors this season. The Ro-Hawks could have as many as eight players returning next season, which includes three starters, Williams and Nick Hardy - both juniors - and sophomore J.J. Gomez.
London said he appreciated the support Randolph High School fans and members of the Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph community gave the Ro-Hawks during the season.
"A lot of people thought we were underdogs, but on Randolph, we never felt that way," he said. "The whole community had faith we could do it. We believed in ourselves."
Gendron said the Ro-Hawks were good representatives of their school and the JBSA-Randolph community.
"There's not a day I get up and don't love coming to work for people who sacrifice to protect this country and these kids parents do that every day," he said. "It's an honor to work with these military kids."