SAN ANTONIO – After missing out on the opportunity to play in the Alamodome last season, the Boerne boys basketball team soaked up every moment of their time on the court on Friday afternoon, as they prepared to take on Wichita Falls Hirschi in the UIL Class 4A State semifinals. The Greyhounds lost in the state semis last season, and they were looking for a better result this year.
Senior Devin Styles led the way, scoring a game-high 23 points, but Boerne saw an 11-point second-half lead evaporate against the Huskies in a heartbreaking 63-57 overtime defeat.
Styles set the tone in the first minute of play, forcing a steal and scoring on a layup to give Boerne the first points of the game. After nearly four minutes of scoreless basketball, both teams hit their stride, trading baskets until Styles put the Greyhounds up by two with a traditional three-point play. He scored 11 of the team’s first 13 points, and Boerne led 13-11 after one.
The Greyhounds continued to pick up the pace in the second quarter, building a six-point advantage on a three-pointer from Trevor Agarwal and a seven-point lead on a triple from Barrett Pape, who finished the game with 12 points. The Huskies managed to claw their way back into the game, but another layup by Styles with 31 seconds left in the frame stifled the comeback for the moment and gave Boerne a 27-22 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Greyhounds threatened to run away with the game entirely. Koen Wolff converted a steal into a fast-break layup to put Boerne up 32-24, and a few minutes later, his two free throws gave the Greyhounds their largest lead of the game, 35-24. But Hirschi once again did not go away, cutting that 11-point advantage down to just six entering the fourth quarter.
Clutch layups from Houston Hendrix and Styles helped right the ship, as the Greyhounds maintained an eight-point lead. But a pair of turnovers changed the complexion of the game. Ernest Young and Jamarion Carroll capitalized with layups -- each scored 19 points -- and Herschi rallied from 42-34 deficit to force overtime with the game tied at 52. Agarwal broke a 54-54 tie with a triple in the extra frame, but that would prove to be the Greyhounds’ last basket, as Wichita Falls pulled away to win by six.
The Greyhounds finished their remarkable season with a 32-7 overall record.