AUSTIN – Kevin Wagner scored 20 points, and No. 3 Estacado’s defense thwarted No. 22 Stafford’s attempt at a slow-paced game, outlasting the Spartans 45-40 in the Class 3A state semifinals Thursday at the Frank Erwin Center.

The Matadors’ defense forced 17 turnovers and earned 11 steals to rattle Stafford.

“I challenged the guys to win each possession,” head coach Tony Wagner said. “We created a lead and I don’t think they ever really recovered from those first few possessions. I always try to tell the kids to get three stops at the beginning of the game, and for me I feel like if we’re able to get those stops it sets a tone for our guys and motivates us offensively.”

Estacado's Kevin Wagner passes the ball off to teamate Eldon Gatewood Thursday during the Texas state basketball tournament semi-final game at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. Estacado won the game 45-40 and will play Dallas Madison for the championship. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Estacado's Clarence Willard goes to the basket against Stafford's Boris Anyama Thursday at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas during the Texas state basketball championship semi-final game. Estacado beat Stafford 45-40 to advance to the next round. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Estacado's Kevin Wagner goes to the basket against Brandon Hamilton Thursday during the semi-final game of the Texas state basketball tournament at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. Wagner scored 20 points in Estacado's 45-40 victory over Stafford. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Estacado's Ti Russell dunks against Stafford during the Texas state basketball tournement semi-final game at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas Thursday night. Estacado beat Stafford 45-40 to advance to the championship game against Dallas Madison. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Estacado’s strategy certainly worked on Thursday as Stafford had a missed shot and two turnovers on its first three possessions. The Mats (32-4) converted those into five points and never trailed in the game, even after the Spartans (23-12) made their push in the second half.

“Basically we had a couple of times where we lost the handle on the ball and they got some easy baskets,” Stafford coach Eric Jackson said. “That’s the style we’ve been playing lately, the last 12-13 games and really relying on our half-court defense and counting on shutting people down. Today, (Estacado) did a good job of keeping the ball away from us.”

Wagner and the Matadors (32-4) will now get their much-anticipated rematch of the 2009 state title game against Dallas Madison (29-8), which defeated Estacado in the title game a year ago, 68-66, in overtime.
Madison beat Silsbee 67-63 in the other semifinal on Thursday.

The 45 points was the fewest scored by the Matadors this season. Only three times during the regular season and playoffs did Estacado score fewer than 50 points, losing only once to Liberal (Kan.) Sunrise early in the season.

Estacado’s defensive intensity led to a 16-4 lead through the first two minutes of the second quarter. It came in the front court in terms of stopping Stafford possessions with a steal or defensive rebound, and it came in the back court as the Mats had several steals or deflections off inbounds passes.

After two Wagner free throws made it 18-6 with 4:05 left in the first half, though, the Spartans began figuring things out, closing the half on a 9-4 run to chip into the Estacado lead at 22-15 at the intermission.

A 9-1 run midway through the third quarter pulled the Spartans to within one at 29-28 and again late at 32-31. Then, tied at 34, Estacado scored six straight points early in the fourth to re-establish its lead.

“They didn’t really do anything different,” Kevin Wagner said. “Teams are going to go on runs, but how you react to them and how you contain yourself when they’re going on that run defines a good team. We just tried to keep the lead so they couldn’t get in front of us and just did our thing from there.”

Estacado answered the Stafford surge with six consecutive points, finished by a Ti Russell dunk after a scramble for a loose ball. That put the Mats up 40-36, with Clarence Willard hitting two free throws with 6.3 seconds left to seal the win.

And now, the focus can turn toward Madison.

“At the beginning of the year everybody starts off the year wanting to go to state,” Tony Wagner said. “We wanted to go to state and get a chance to redeem ourselves in a game we felt we lost ourselves … in a game we felt we had an opportunity to win. Anytime you get back to the state championship it’s motivation in itself, no matter who you’re going to play.”

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CLASS 3A STATE SEMIFINALS
At the Frank Erwin Special Events Center, Austin
ESTACADO 45, STAFFORD 40
STAFFORD — Wiltz 9-16 5-5 24, Collins 1-4 1-2 3, Hamilton 6-12 1-1 13, Anyama 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Coakley 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Luckett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-33 7-8 40.
ESTACADO — Russell 3-4 0-0 6, Willard 2-9 2-3 6, Johnson 4-6 0-0 9, Wagner 8-13 4-6 20, Hunter 1-5 1-2 3, Gatewood 0-2 1-2 1, Lewis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-40 8-13 45.
Stafford 4 11 16 9 — 40
Estacado 11 11 12 11 — 45
3-point goals: Stafford 1-5 (Wiltz 1-4, Collins 0-1); Estacado 1-9 (Johnson 1-2, Willard 0-2, Hunter 0-2, Wagner 0-3). Rebounds: Stafford 22 (Hamilton 5, Anyama 5); Estacado 21 (Russell 7). Assists: Stafford 4 (Williams 2); Estacado 7 (Willard 2, Wagner 2). Steals: Stafford 2 (Collins, Hamilton); Estacado 11 (Wagner 5). Blocked shots: Stafford 4 (Hamilton 2); Estacado 5 (Russell, Willard, Wagner, Hunter, Gatewood). Total fouls: Stafford 11, Estacado 13. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None. Records: Stafford 23-12, Estacado 32-4.