The Ellison Eagles finished the regular season with an overwhelming 88-53 victory over Lake Belton on Tuesday to defend their District 22-5A crown entering the state playoffs next week.
Ellison was never challenged, winning their 11th straight game.
The No. 11-ranked Eagles finished 12-2 in district and 28-5 overall, while Lake Belton ended their season at 3-11 and 11-23.
After the Eagles cut down the net and posed for photos, head coach Alberto Jones said winning a district championship never gets old.
This one, he said, reminds him of his first and seems more special after losing eight seniors from last year’s state runner-up team.
They started 1-2 in district, finishing with those 11 consecutive wins.
“You try to keep the same approach to every game regardless of who you play. You want to stay locked-in and focused. I thought we did a good job of that tonight,” Jones said.
“I thought they shared the ball well. Everyone got involved. I liked that.”
Sean Parks led all scoring with 17 points. Darone Leakes contributed 14, Ahziel "JoJo" McIver and Nasaun Parker contributed 11 each, Marneko Thomas and Isaac Green 10, Kris White nine and Elijah Bass and Jay-quan Gaines three.
A few blocks down Elms Road another Killeen ISD team battled another Belton team, part of a three-team scramble to settle the rest of the league playoff positioning.
The No. 23-ranked Shoemaker Grey Wolves outbattled the Belton Tigers 48-45 to clinch the third seed in 22-5A.
DJ Moore tallied 20 points to help the Grey Wolves (27-8, 11-3) rally from a halftime deficit. Gregory Dumas added 11 points and Jaymes Brown-Peterson had eight.
Meanwhile, the No. 14 University Trojans, also 11-3, finished against the crosstown Waco Lions (2-12) to grab the second seed. The Chaparral Bobcats defeated Killeen 69-47 in the teams' season finale.
In District 12-6A, Harker Heights defeated Waco Midway 59-38 in the District 12-6A finale and finished with a share of the league title with Pflugerville Weiss. The Knights lost a flip and will be the No. 2 seed. They face Mansfield Lake Ridge in the bi-district round.
Back at Eagle Gym, Ellison and Lake Belton were tied 3-3 near the start of the game before the Eagles scored the next 10 points, then really put on the gas, ending the first quarter up 24-8 and the second quarter at 43-21.
In the second half, Ellison’s lead grew to 30 points as Jones emptied his bench. Everyone on the roster played and the starting five sat throughout the fourth quarter cheering on their teammates.
