Like the majority of Houston vs. The Nation tournament games before it, Saturday’s Texas Division Championship game between Hastings and Kingwood started as something of a snoozer.

The teams combined for just 16 points in the first quarter and 13 in the second, drawing mock yawns and a few chuckles from some onlookers at the Aldine Campbell Center.
But Kingwood, having qualified for the game by winning just two hours earlier, was perfectly happy with the slow pace.

“We had played a game earlier and they hadn’t so we were just trying to play our tempo,” Mustangs guard Tevin Svihovec said. "We just keep focused on defense and getting across the floor and helping each other out.”

The Mustangs’ persistence paid dividends in the second half, which they opened with a 16-9 run to defeat the Bears 47-38 and capture the Texas Division trophy.

Svihovec and Nick James scored 12 points apiece to lead Kingwood (15-5), which advanced to the championship with a 60-55 win over Smiley earlier Saturday.

James and Jordan McGowen hit quick shots to start the second half, and a Hunter Martin 3-pointer quickly followed to spur the third-quarter run.

Derek McLea hit a runner and 3-pointer back-to-back midway through the fourth for a 41-28 lead.

Hastings (17-5) shot only 12-of-43 (28 percent). The Mustangs held outstanding point guard Chris Iles to six points on 3-of-10 shooting; Lionel Foster scored 11 and Ja’Darius Davis nine for the Bears.

“Defensively we’re playing as good as we can play right now,” Kingwood coach Royce Huseman said. “We’re doing the things we want to do to keep them off the boards and control the momentum of the game. Offensively we’ve been shooting the ball well enough to score. It’s not as if we’re trying to score only 45 points, but in the first half we missed about 15 layups.

“It wasn’t necessarily a low-scoring game by design. That’s just the way the game was.”

Kingwood thrived in a low-scoring game Thursday, defeating Minneapolis De La Salle 41-30. This was the sixth tournament game in which the winning team failed to score 60 points.

Adam Brown added eight points and eight rebounds for the Mustangs. Rob Singletary had seven rebounds.

Yates 66, Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick 60

Houston continued its dominance against national teams, with Yates earning area teams their ninth win in 10 tries by knocking off St. Patrick (6-2).

St. Patrick, which entered the event ranked No. 1 by most national polls, lost its second game in as many days. Madison defeated the Celtics on Friday night.

Yates, which trailed 31-30 at halftime, held St. Patrick scoreless for more than a minute to end the game.

Anthony Jones’ 25 points led Yates, which also got 12 points from Brandon Peters and 11 from Xavier Roberson.

Quintrell Thomas’ 22 points and 13 rebounds led St. Patrick, which outrebounded Yates 34-20.

Klein Collins 45, Montverde (Fla.) Academy 43

Montverde point guard Dashan Harris missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Eagles lost their second straight game in Texas after coming here with 42 straight wins since 2005.

Derek Craig led Collins with 20 points. Bassel Bawji added 11 and Demetri Goodson scored 10.

Wheatley 82, Albany (N.Y.) Academy 53

DeShaun Garrett led three scorers in double-figures and Wheatley crushed Albany Academy.

Garrett had 19 points and Joseph Franklin and Carlos Cook added 17 apiece for the Wildcats, who led 39-21 at halftime. Franklin added six rebounds.

SATURDAY’S SCORES
Bellaire 59, Aldine 46
Kingwood 60, Smiley 55
Cypress Springs 67, St. Thomas 63
St. Pius 51, Minneapolis De La Salle 43
Texas Championship: Kingwood 47, Hastings 38
Wheatley 82, Albany (N.Y.) Academy 53

Klein Collins 45, Montverde (Fla.) Academy 43

Yates 66, Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick 60

Oak Hill (Va.) Academy 108, Madison 88

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