UIL 4A Championship Game

Reviews with Rob

Faith Family vs Silsbee

In the last session of the UIL State Boys Basketball Tournament, the 4a Championship would be on the line as the two-time state champion, Faith Family (25-11) would defend their title against the Silsbee Tigers (29-10). These two would be no strangers to each other as two years ago they faced off on this exact same court. In the first half, Faith Family could do no wrong. They were hitting every shot they put up, so much so that it seemed their basket was 20 feet wide. Texas A&M Corpus Christi commit G Isaac Williams showed signs of having a legendary night early on. He was 10 for 10 from the field for 21 points. 4-star unsigned senior P Doryan Onwuchekwa also came up huge with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Silsbee would have some bright spots in the first half as well. ℅ 2027 G Payton Jones would show no fear and attack the older and bigger guards of Faith Family, as he would finish with 7 points in the half. Hardin-Simmons football commit G Lamarcus Bottley Jr was his usual fiery self on the defensive end. Even though the score didn’t indicate it, Bottley was making things difficult for the Eagles. Faith Family would go into the half with a 44-22 lead.

In the second half, the lead was stretched almost to 30 points. The Tigers of Silsbee wouldn’t quit. That’s a testament to their coach, Joe Sigler. Every timeout or deadball possession, he was encouraging his kids to continue to fight. ℅ 2025 F Troy Rice played his butt off. He would score 8 points in the second half and, along with Memphis signee G Jared Harris, would help the Tigers win the second half scoring battle 44-36. They even outscored the Eagles 31-19 in the fourth quarter. After it was all said and done, this night would belong to Faith Family once again. They were just too good on this night. They played almost a perfect game. Onwuchekwa would continue his dominance in the second half, with 9 points and 7 rebounds. Isaac Williams would continue being perfect from the field, going 4 for 4 with 11 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. Williams would cap off his legendary performance by setting a state record for the most field goals attempted without a miss. Faith Family would secure Coach Brandon Thomas his third straight state title and his fourth in the last six years, with an 80-66 final score.

Faith Family was led by: Isaac Williams with 32 points (14-14 FG), 6 rebounds, and 4 assists; Doryan Onwuchekwa with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks

Silsbee was led by: Jared Harris with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists; Payton Jones with 15 points; Troy Rice with 10 points, 2 rebounds

Article Written by: Robert Carroll 

[Ball So Hard, Lead Scout]

March 10th, 2024