Championship Game: St. Mark’s School of Texas vs. Episcopal School of Dallas

The final day of the Southwest Preparatory Conference Winter Sports Championships featured an all-Dallas match-up at a thunderous Crum Gym on the Houston Episcopal campus.  The St. Mark’s Lions and the Dallas Episcopal Eagles squared off for the SPC title and bragging rights in Big D.

St. Mark’s drew first blood with an early three, while the Lions’ smothering defense denied Episcopal their first basket until about halfway through the opening period.  St. Mark’s dominated in the paint, on the glass, and at the free-throw line to take a 16-10 lead into the second period.

Episcopal’s Jeff Georgatos picked up the pace in the second, dropping in a number of baskets for the Eagles, but they were unable to prevent St. Mark’s from increasing their halftime lead to 12, as they headed to the locker room with a 34-22 advantage.

Episcopal came out of the half prepared for a fight to the finish and outscored the Lions in the third quarter, leading up to what would be an exciting finish.

The final period saw both teams playing aggressive basketball, but missed shots by the Eagles shifted the momentum back to the Lions.  There was still hope for Episcopal late in the game, however, as St. Marks’ Jordan Hershiser fouled out in the final minute, and the Lions’ lead had dwindled to 5 with 44 seconds remaining.  St. Mark’s would put the game away at the free-throw line after two late fouls by the Eagles and claim the SPC title with a 62-58 victory.

Georgatos led all scorers with 18 for Episcopal.  Trenton Wesson also contributed 15 points for the Eagles.

Sam Acho, who recently signed a letter of intent to play football for the University of Texas, led St. Mark’s on the basketball court as well, with 17 points in the title game.  Hamilton Wise added 10.

Third Place Game: St. Mary’s Hall of San Antonio vs. The Kinkaid School of Houston

After falling to St. Mark’s and Dallas Episcopal, respectively, the Barons of St. Mary’s and the Falcons of Kinkaid battled for third place in the SPC championships Saturday afternoon at Crum Gym.

Kinkaid struck first and kept St. Mary’s off the scoreboard until three minutes into the first quarter.  The Barons bounced back with a vengeance, capitalizing on the Falcons’ turnovers and closing out the opening period with a 14-4 lead.

The Falcons were again plagued by turnovers and missed shots in the second quarter, as they continued to be outpaced and outscored by St. Mary’s for the remainder of the half.

After halftime, Kinkaid’s Sam Thompson and Jack Warmington helped pull the Falcons within 10, finishing the third period with a score of 45-35 in favor of St. Mary’s.

Kinkaid began the fourth quarter with an aggressive full-court press to force turnovers, but the Barons continued to take advantage of their scoring opportunities to keep the Falcons at a distance.  In the game’s final minutes, Kinkaid’s Alex Minett sparked his team with a three pointer to pull the Falcons within 5, but St. Mary’s responded with a late push to win the game 69-60.

David Berry had a game-high 23 points for St. Mary’s.  Paul Swann and Paul Taylor each added 17, while Nick Ortiz contributed 10.

Sam Thompson led Kinkaid with 13, and Garrett Lowery scored 11.

Fifth Place Game: Holland Hall of Oklahoma vs. Episcopal High School of Houston

The Holland Hall Dutchmen took on the Houston Episcopal Knights Saturday morning in the consolation game of the SPC championships at Crum Gym.

The Dutchmen set the pace early with a three pointer to open the game and maintained their intensity throughout the first period to finish with an 18-9 advantage.

Holland Hall went on a 5-0 run to start the second quarter before Episcopal’s Jordan Sterling and Jonathan Aganekwu matched the Dutchmen’s start with a quick 5 points for the Knights.  The rest of the half was not as productive for Episcopal, however, as Holland Hall would take a 33-17 lead to the locker room.

Holland Hall did not relinquish their double-digit margin in the third period, but Episcopal’s Nathan Wynne gave his team a boost, draining a mid-court buzzer-beater to end the quarter with the score 50-35 in favor of the Dutchmen.

The Knights continued to give a valiant effort in the game’s final period, managing to pull within 9 of Holland Hall, but the Dutchmen left Houston with a 60-51 victory and a 5th place finish in the SPC championships.

Subscribe to this comment's feed