Highschool Basketball
Falcons book flight to San Antonio, Tompkins tops Alief Taylor 60-43
Josh Koch
Mar 7, 2018, 12:42 pm
HOUSTON – With 1:24 left on the clock and his team leading by 16, Tompkins coach Bobby Sanders finally let it all soak in.
Sanders turned to the packed student section placed right behind the Falcons’ bench and started applauding them. The gesture sent the crowd into and frenzy and signaled to them to start the celebration.
Tompkins – a team that had never won a playoff game in program history – had just won its fifth-straight, beating Alief Taylor 60-43 in the Region III-6A Final on Saturday to punch its ticket to San Antonio.
“We’re making history right now,” Tompkins senior CJ Washington said.
Tompkins (29-8) becomes the first-ever Katy ISD boys basketball program to make it to the state tournament.
The Falcons are only the second basketball team, girls or boys, to make the tournament joining the 1990 Mayde Creek Rams girls basketball team.
“When I interviewed for this job five years ago, I told my principal I made it to the Regional Finals as a player and lost in overtime,” Tompkins coach Bobby Sanders, a graduate of Royal High School in Brookshire, Texas, said. “My goal was to get this group of guys to the state tournament and it feels really good to be the first Katy team to do it.”
Alief Taylor finishes the season at 24-13 after making it to the Regional Finals for the first time in program history.
To get to this point, the Lions had to defeat District 24-6A Champion Dickinson, District 21-6A Champion Atascocita and District 18-6A Champion Sam Houston making it a memorable run for the Lions.
“That’s a pretty good run,” Alief Taylor coach Jeff Durnford said. “I’m proud of them. I told them at some point, they’re hurting right now, but you know how it goes, they recover quicker than the coaches do. Tomorrow, in a week or at spring break, they’ll realize they can be proud of what they did.
“It was a great three weeks, like I told them those don’t happen often. So enjoy it, we did, it was a nice run.”
Alief Taylor was able to stay close to Tompkins for the first half, thanks in part to Joe Ogunbanjo’s 11-point first quarter to be within four, trailing 20-16 after one.
Leading 32-27 heading into the third quarter, Tompkins turned up the heat.
Led by Washington, who finished with a game-high 20 points, Jamal Bieniemy, who had 12 and Emmanuel White’s 10 points, the Falcons pulled away.
“I just pick whenever I want to attack,” Bieniemy said. “Just be smart with it and not force anything because I know my guys are good enough if I have a bad game or an off night we can still win. So I just pick when I attack.”
Tompkins opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run and eventually outscore Alief Taylor 15-5 in the frame to extend the lead from just five to 15 heading into the fourth.
“We knew coming out of halftime we knew we just wanted to come in and knew that offensively it wasn’t going to be an up and down offensive game,” Tompkins senior Eden Holt said. “We knew it was going to come down to stops. So that’s what we wanted to do and lock in on. “Make stops.”
Down by 15, the Lions cut the lead down to 12 with 4:33 to go but that would be as close as they would get in the eventual 60-43 loss.
Ogunbanjo finished as the Lions’ leading scorer with 11 points, followed by Kavin Ezekwe’s eight and Victor Irhirhi’s nine.
“We ran into a really good team today,” Durnford said. “Basketball’s a game of matchups. There’s a lot of skill on the floor there all over the place. Five players they put on the floor that can shoot it and drive it. That’s a tough matchup for anybody.”
Tompkins now sets its sight on San Antonio where South Garland, Westlake and Allen await the Falcons.
The UIL will release the matchup information sometime in the coming days but both Class 6A State Semifinal games will be played on Friday at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. inside the Alamodome.
“The players were talking about it in August,” Sanders said about making State. “We weren’t talking about it until late in the season, February is when I realized we could do it. I didn’t know if we had what it took on defense but they showed tonight we did.”
One of the keys to success to the Falcons’ run to State, Sanders said not only has been the players of course but the packed student section behind them.
“That’s an outstanding student section,” he said. “Compared to any team we’ve played none compare.”
Sanders hopes to see the students fill the Alamodome stands on Friday in San Antonio and a natural next question was if the Tompkins High School would be in session or not to allow travel.
“They shouldn’t,” Sanders said with a laugh. “We should not have school. Hopefully we won’t.”
After dropping a frustrating series to the Chicago White Sox, the Houston Astros find themselves in a familiar position—searching for answers, but still within striking distance. Despite their inconsistency, Houston sits just three games behind the AL West-leading Mariners, who are currently 7 games over .500 and riding an 8-2 stretch. For as up-and-down as the Astros have been, the division remains tantalizingly close.
That inconsistency was on full display throughout the White Sox series. Jake Meyers and Zach Dezenzo each played the roles of both hero and heartbreaker. Dezenzo launched a massive home run in Game 3, a moment that energized the dugout and briefly shifted momentum. But his costly defensive error later in the game flipped the script. Meyers was a spark plug in Houston’s lone win, delivering a clutch performance at the plate, only to run the team out of a rally in the finale when he was picked off second—right before Jeremy Peña ripped what would have been an RBI single.
Jose Altuve’s struggles are quietly becoming more worrisome. He’s recorded just one multi-hit game since April 19 and has only one homer since April 8. On Sunday, he swung at the first pitch after Lance McCullers had grinded through a 33-pitch inning—a decision that raised questions about his awareness in a veteran moment. Should manager Joe Espada have reminded Altuve of the situation? Or is this on Altuve, who should have known what to do as one of the team leaders?
Signs of life
There are flickers of life from the bats. Last week, Houston's team OPS was an underwhelming .667 (23rd in MLB), with a slugging percentage of .357 (25th). They've nudged those numbers up to .684 (19th) and .370 (21st), respectively. It’s modest progress, but enough to suggest this offense might be trending in the right direction. Still, their 5-5 record over the last 10 games feels emblematic of who they are right now—a .500 team with both talent and flaws.
Looking ahead
The upcoming schedule could be a turning point. Three of the next five opponents have losing records, and none of them are elite. This stretch offers a prime opportunity for Houston to finally build momentum and close the gap in the division—assuming the Mariners cool off from their current tear, which seems inevitable given their unsustainable 8-2 pace.
McCullers is officially back!
Lance McCullers returned for the first time since 2022 and, despite being limited to 3.2 innings due to command issues (three walks and a hit batter), there were encouraging signs. His velocity was there, and the stuff looked sharp. It’s a start, and perhaps a step toward stabilizing a rotation that still needs length.
Steering the ship
Manager Joe Espada, however, continues to draw scrutiny. His decision-making in the finale raised eyebrows again. Giving Isaac Paredes a day off when Yordan Alvarez was already sitting left the lineup depleted. Rather than using promising young infielder/outfielder Cam Smith, he opted for Mauricio Dubón and Brendan Rodgers—a defensive combo that didn't inspire confidence. It feels at times like Espada isn’t prioritizing winning the final game of a series, a pattern that could haunt the team down the stretch.
The plot thickens
Meanwhile, Christian Walker’s slump is dragging on. He went 0-for-5 twice in the last two series and looks out of sync at the plate. The Astros need more from their power hitters if they hope to make a real run. And with Alvarez now heading to the IL with hand inflammation, runs will be even harder to come by.
All told, this team still feels like one hovering just above or below .500. But in a division that remains wide open, the path forward is clear: play better, hope the Mariners come back to earth, and capitalize on a soft schedule. The race is far from over—but it’s time for Houston to start acting like contenders.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
*ChatGPT assisted.
___________________________
Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!