3A BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINAL: Brock ends EC’s title bid
Published 5:31 pm Thursday, March 7, 2019
A 23-15 fourth quarter helped Brock pull away from East Chambers for a 58-49 victory Thursday in a UIL 3A boys basketball semifinal at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
East Chambers (31-2) trailed 39-38 with 6:01 left before Brock (33-5) went on 9-0 run over the next 4:16. The winning Eagles, based just west of Fort Worth, made only 4 of 6 field goals in the final 8 minutes, but shot 15 of 19 at the free-throw line and was 18 for 24 for the game.
The Buccaneers led by as many as five points midway through the third quarter and finished the game shooting 20 of 50 from the floor for 40 percent and 7 of 12 at the line for 58.3 percent. They struggled to connect from three-point range, making 2 of 18.
Derek DeMoss scored 16 points and Ernest Ceasar had 13 for the Bucs. Scott Thomas led the Eagles with 19 points and Bradon Smith added 14.
East Chambers woke up from a 12-5 deficit through one quarter and tied the game at 22 at halftime. The Bucs outscored the Eagles 20-11 in points off turnovers and 16-7 in bench points.
East Chambers made its fifth state semifinal appearance and first since 2016, when the Bucs lost to Brownfield 80-54 in the 3A championship game. They were 2A semifinalists in 2013, 2A runners-up to Krum in 1996 and 1A semifinalists in 1964.
Brock will play Dallas Madison, a 43-33 winner over San Antonio Cole, the alma mater of NBA great Shaquille O’Neal.
— I.C. Murrell