HS Boys Basketball Playoffs: Steady Play Through Pressure Sees College Park Enter the Final Four

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Another road trip will send the College Park Cavaliers off to the UIL State Final Four, with their State Semifinal matchup awaiting on Tuesday night.

A long journey of defeating battle-tested opponents has seen several teams try to get the best of Coach Clifton McNeely and his experienced players.

Tough matchups in the Bi-District and Area Rounds nearly sent the Cavs home without a deep push, but crucial play from players like Aiden Buckmon was enough to ensure a longer stay in the postseason by securing two wins by a combined five points.

With the past two games being nail-biting performances, the Cavs locked in for their Regional Semifinal game against the unexpecting Wylie East Raiders.

An onslaught of vertical play saw Jacob Oman, Ian Inman, and Evan Mason carry the load by snagging rebounds for put-backs or to end Raider possessions before they could score. Oman’s 20 points and 16 rebounds were game highs in both stats, putting the most dominant win of the playoffs in the books for a 60-39 College Park win.

The reality of playoff competition snapped back into the Cavaleirs’ view with a scrappy Mesquite Horn team that came to play.

Determined and relentless three-point shooting saw Horn keep pace throughout the game, including a late push that got the game sent into overtime. Despite big-time makes from Inman and Buckmon down the stretch, another clutch performance had to manifest to keep the dream alive.

Luckily for McNeely and the rest of the team, veteran leadership and an heir of playoff prestige kept the team level-headed during the overtime period to secure another close postseason win by a score of 66-63.

With College Park’s win, they now enter as the first team from Conroe ISD to make the State Tournament in 40 years. The four-decade absence from the Final Four has finally been broken by a team determined to climb the mountaintop and claim its first hopeful state title.

Awaiting the Cavs in the State Semifinal are the Wildcats of Denton Guyer. The Dallas-Fort Worth area team has become a cornerstone of Texas basketball, with a top-five state ranking according to MaxPreps, to go along with a long history of future collegiate talent.

This next game will be one of the toughest, if not the toughest, matchups College Park has faced in the year. But, leadership from a stalworth coach and determined play from athletes looking to make history will surely be game-changing in the push for UIL immortality.