AUSTIN — For 364 days, the Estacado basketball team had to wonder about what could have been.

The Matadors no longer have to wonder “what if.”

Motivated by the sting and disappointment of last year’s loss to Dallas Madison in the Class 3A state championship game, the Matadors took it to the Trojans in Saturday’s rematch, using stellar defense and key free throws down the stretch to hold on for a 69-63 win at the Frank Erwin Center.

“It tastes great,” Estacado head coach Tony Wagner said of the school’s first state basketball title. “You try not to minimize the state championship because when you win state I don’t think it matters who it is against. I think we could have played anyone and we’d have the same feeling we have right now. Our guys held their composure. It was a well-fought, well-earned victory for our guys and they showed a whole lot of character and composure there at the end.”

Estacado Matadors celebrate their 69-63 victory over Dallas Madison to win the Texas Class 3A state basketball championship Saturday at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Estacado's Kevin Wagner goes to the basket against Dallas Madison's Kristapher Gulley, left, and Tevin Harris Saturday during the 3A Texas state basketball tournament championship game at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. Estacado beat Madison 69-63. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Estacado's Ti Russell pulls in a rebound against Dallas Madison Saturday during the championship game of the 3A Texas state basketball tournament at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. Estacado beat Madison 69-63 to claim the state title. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Estacado's Barry Johnson reacts as teamate Kevin Wagner misses a foul shot during the fourth quarter of the the 3A Texas state championship game against Dallas Madison Saturday. Estacado beat Madison at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas 69-63 to claim the state title. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

It is the first UIL boys basketball title for a Lubbock ISD team since Lubbock High beat Austin for the Class 2A crown in 1951, and the district’s first basketball title, boys or girls, since the Monterey girls won the Class 5A crown in 1981. Dunbar, now a junior high, won five Prairie View Interscholastic League titles, the last coming in 1965.

Madision beat Estacado 68-66 in overtime in the 3A championship game a year ago.

Most valuable player Clarence Willard hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range for a game-high 23 points, and three other players scored in double figures for the Matadors (33-4), who figure to make a strong push to repeat next season with just one senior in the starting lineup and three on the roster.

“My dad’s got a saying that tradition never graduates,” said junior point guard Kevin Wagner, who added 13 points, four assists and two steals. “That’s real important to us.”

Ti Russell chipped in 11 points and Barry Johnson 10 for Estacado, which used an 11-3 run to end the first quarter and grab a 19-16 lead, then powered its way to a 33-25 halftime lead on an 8-0 run to end the second quarter.

“I tell these guys all the time to try and get stops, and in order to get on a run you have to get stops,” Tony Wagner said. “Basketball is a game of runs. Teams are going to go on runs. If you can contain yourself and keep your composure when teams go on a run, you’re going to be OK most of the time. We’ve got a saying to not let the last play affect the next play. When you play that way and have that mentality, it really keeps you calm when teams go on runs.”

Defensively, the Matadors held the Trojans (29-9) to just 36.5 percent shooting in the game, including 27.3 percent in the first half. Madison distinctly won the rebounding edge (46-31), but the Matadors had fewer turnovers (19-16) and also had more points in the paint (38-32) and in transition (18-16).

The 69 points allowed by Madison was its third-highest total allowed this season. The only team to score more than that was Burkburnett, which did it twice in splitting with the Trojans. Estacado beat Burkburnett in the regional semifinals.

“I knew Estacado was going to come out with a chip on their shoulder and wanting revenge from last year,” Madison coach Damien Mobley said. “They gave us everything they had and we had to come out and match their intensity and effort. If we could do that, I felt we would be victorious. There were a lot of shots we didn’t make that we normally make, and we didn’t play defense like we usually play defense by giving up 69 points.”

A Willard 3-pointer and a dunk by Russell extended the lead to 38-25 before the Trojans began climbing back. Trailing 42-33, Madison scored seven straight points to pull to within two at 42-40, but in doing so sent Estacado to the bonus.

At first, the strategy worked. The Matadors led 60-51 with 3:47 left, and they had five trips to the foul line over the next three minutes, but hit just 3 of 10 in that stretch. That allowed the Trojans to pull to within three twice, and a jumper by Kristapher Gulley with 19.2 seconds left made it a two-point game at 65-63.

But Kevin Wagner and Johnson each hit a pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds, and the defense came up with some big stops to seal the win.

“We just had to keep our heads in the game and not look down,” Willard said. “We missed a couple of free throws and got upset, but we just had to think about last year when we missed those free throws. We had to step up to the line and make them count the next time.”

Gulley led the Trojans with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Tevin Harris added 13 points and 10 boards. Timothy Flentroy had 15 points and Desmond Flentroy 10.

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CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
at Frank Erwin Special Events Center, Austin
ESTACADO 69, DALLAS MADISON 63
ESTACADO — Russell 4-5 3-4 11, Willard 6-14 7-13 23, Johnson 4-7 2-2 10, Wagner 4-12 4-7 13, Hunter 4-10, 0-0 8, Gatewood 0-1 0-0 0, Lewis 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 24-54 16-26 69.
MADISON — Gulley 7-15 6-9 20, Harris 3-7 7-10 13, D. Flentroy 5-15 0-0 10, T. Flentroy 6-14 0-0 15, Scott 1-5 0-0 2, Doss 1-3 0-0 3, Bell 0-0 0-2 0, Hollins 0-1 0-0 0, Wilcots 0-0 0-0 0, Garrett 0-1 0-0 0, Boyd 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-63 13-21 63.
Estacado 19 14 14 22 — 69
Madison 16 9 15 23 — 63
3-point goals: Estacado 5-11 (Willard 4-5, Wagner 1-2, Johnson 0-2, Hunter 0-2); Madison 4-16 (T. Flentroy 3-7, Doss 1-2, Gulley 0-1, Scott 0-1, Hollins 0-1, D. Flentroy 0-4). Rebounds: Estacado 31 (Russell 7, Willard 7); Madison 46 (Gulley 11, Harris 10). Assists: Estacado 16 (Willard 4, Wagner 4); Madison 8 (D. Flentroy 4). Steals: Estacado 10 (Hunter 3, Willard 3); Madison 10 (D. Flentroy 3). Blocked shots: Estacado 1 (Wagner); Madison 3 (Harris 2). Total fouls: Estacado 18, Madison 23. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. Records: Estacado 33-4, Madison 29-9.