Dallas-area High School basketball action continues this week and a handful of teams from the region dominated in regionals to book a trip to San Antonio.
Plano East continues an unbeaten season and is the first 6A team ever to go undefeated. The team is fighting for the state championship, a feat no sport at the school has ever accomplished according to NBC 5 DFW. Plano East picked up a win over their final opponent, Keller High School with a final of 76-60. Plano East is the only undefeated team in the tournament.
Keller head coach Zach Weir had complimentary words for Plano East’s DJ Hall following the game.
“He is tough,” Weir said of Hall as reported by The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “He is a really good player. He’s big. He moves well. You try to mix him up a little bit and hope you catch him off guard. At the end of the day, he did a heck of a job and he responded. Kudos to him and Plano East. They are a really good team.”
Plano East will be tasked with a semifinal match against Fort Worth-area Mansfield Lake Ridge High School on Friday at 7 p.m. Mansfield Lake Ridge front-man Matthew Alexander, who head coach Cornelius Mitchell called the “heart and soul” of the team.
“He plays hard,” Mitchell said to the Star-Telegram. “He doesn’t care about scoring. All he cares about is doing whatever he had to do in order for our team to win. He’s a great kid. He’s competitive and smart.”
Oak Cliff Faith Family also kept its chances at a repeat of last season’s 4A State Championship with a win over Dallas Carter on Saturday and Dallas Pinkston on Friday, eliminating both teams from the tournament.
Faith Family will move to 5A next season despite the small enrollment the school has, but UIL made the change due to the proximity of other campuses in the region.
“You just play the game and compete against anybody. It’s all good,” head coach Brandon Thomas said to The Dallas Morning News.
Lancaster High School also managed to put together wins this week and advance to the 5A semifinals. Saturday’s win over The Colony sent the Tigers on to compete for a State Championship. Lancaster last won State in 2020.
“6’8 Dillon Battie (Temple Commit) really showed up for the Regionals last weekend in Dallas. He helped lead Lancaster to another State tournament and does a little of everything…,” Cameron Cash posted on X following the Tigers win in the 5A tournament.