WEST:  The Varsity Boys Basketball team traveled south on Friday for a showdown with Bishop Lynch in the TAPPS 6A State Semi-Finals.  The Cardinals, having previously defeated the Friars twice in district play this season, were not going to look past BL, who upset JPII in the same round a season ago.  With a trip to the state title game on the line, the Cards and Friars put on a show in Waco.  

The two teams traded big bucket after big bucket in one of the closest games all year for John Paul II.  Ahead 16-14 after the first quarter, the Cardinals took the Friars' best shot in the second quarter and actually trailed 35-30 at halftime.  JPII chipped away at the Bishop Lynch lead in the 3rd quarter, taking a one-point lead into the fourth, 45-44.  In a furious final frame, both sides took turns leading, but it was a Liam McNeeley's basket with 1.5 seconds left that sealed the game for JPII.  With the two teams tied in the final minute, RJ Jones drove to the rim, drawing in the Lynch defenders, along with a healthy amount of contact.  McNeeley snuck into the paint and caught the rebound in the air, draining the put-back floater with just a second-and-a-half on the clock.  The Friars' last-second heave was no good as JPII went on to win 59-57.  

It was certainly a close game according to the scoreboard, and the stats tell the same story.  The Cards outshot the Friars from long-range (40% to 30%), and were lights out from the free-throw line (90% to 75%).  JPII held advantages in points off turnovers (10 to 3), while Bishop Lynch held the edge in second-chance points (8 to 19).  Both teams were dead even in points in the paint with 30 apiece, while the Friars out-rebounded the Cardinals but just two (30 to 28).  

Junior RJ Jones shone bright on the biggest stage of the year, dropping 23 points on the night while going 5/9 from three and a perfect 6/6 from the line, including a huge pair of clutch makes in the last sixty seconds of regulation.  The junior also grabbed three rebounds, dished out three assists, and picked up a steal.  Sophomore phenom Liam McNeeley, who's averaged 19 pts and 9 rebounds on the season, nearly added another double-double, scoring twelve points and snatching nine rebounds to go along with four assists.  

Senior Eli Obaseki was a force for JPII down low, scoring ten points on 5/8 shooting while registering seven boards, three deflections, two steals, and a block.  Junior Gabe Warren also had a big night for the Cards, scoring nine and picking up six rebounds with one assist and one steal.  Drew Forkner and Ofri Kauf also made contributions towards the Cards' win, with the latter scoring five points on a perfect 2/2 shooting with one three, to go along with a rebound and an assist, while the former served as JPII's primary lock-down defender, holding the Friars' best shooter to just nine points and 1/5 from three.   

Following the win over Bishop Lynch in the Semi-Final, John Paul II earned a bid to the TAPPS 6A State Championship on Saturday night, where they would face Concordia Lutheran out of Tomball.  The Crusaders, sporting a record of 25-7 on the season and a perfect 10-0 record in district play, entered the night on a 13-game winning streak.  

A back-and-forth first quarter had both sides tied 11-all after the first eight minutes.  John Paul II lit up the second quarter with an 8-0 run on their way to building a 31-19 lead heading into halftime.  Big makes from RJ Jones and Ofri Kauf helped ignite the run, while Eli Obaseki and Liam McNeeley beat up the Crusaders in the paint.  The Cards maintained their twelve point lead during the third quarter, finding a groove with easy buckets in the paint thanks to a drive-and-dish strategy that Concordia just had no answer for.  JPII held on as the Crusaders made a late push, never allowing the team from Tomball back in the game, winning 66-56.  The win marks the second state title for John Paul II in the last three seasons, including the program's first state championship victory back in 2019-2020, a 51-48 thriller over Antonian.  

Neither team shot particularly well from distance (26% to 25%), but the Cardinals found an edge in points-in-the-paint (28 to 20) and total rebounds (40 to 28).  JPII used its advantages in size and length to bully the other team around the rim, registering 14 assists to just 8 for Concordia, while the Cards shot nearly 60% from the field, compared to just 42% for the Crusaders.  

John Paul II was led in scoring by both RJ Jones (19pts/4reb/4ast) and Liam McNeeley (19pts/9reb/3ast/1stl).  The Cards' two-headed monster did what they've done all season long, lead the attack, and when the defense begins to key on them, dish it to other scoring options.  Junior wing Gabe Warren slashed his way to an 11/6/4 line, getting to the line at will and scoring nine of his eleven from the charity stripe.  Senior Eli Obaseki came alive in the second half, dropping a double-double on the Crusaders with 10 points and 12 rebounds, paired with two assists and two steals.  Drew Forkner (4pts/3reb/1ast) and Ofri Kauf (3pts/1reb/3stl/1blk) did all the little things for JPII while taking on the toughest defensive assignments, matching up with the Crusaders' best players.  

Looking back on the season, head coach Dan Lee reflected on his team's approach heading down the stretch.  "After we lost to Prestonwood on January 18th, we really put an emphasis on defense and that keyed our playoff run.  The Bishop Lynch game was tough, as we knew it would be.  When we were down 35-30 at the half, I told the team if we can hold them under 60  points, we will win, and that's just what we did."  

Lee said the team zeroed-in on how it could improve finishing out games, something that came into play during the postseason.  "We had been working a lot on end of game situations and had just gone over the scenarios that happened at the end of that game and the guys were ready and executed on both ends of the floor in the closing moments to pull out a tough win.  In the championship game our defense again led the way, holding Concordia to just 19 first half points.  We led 31-19 at half and they were never able to get closer than 8 the remainder of the game."

While it was certainly a team effort, Lee spoke at length about the team's "big four" that led the way.  "The four guys named to the All-Tournament team were huge and came up big time and time again.  Eli posted a double double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in the championship game.  Gabe locked up Concordia's best player and had 11 points.  RJ averaged 21 points in the two games and knocked down big shot after big shot, and Liam averaged 16 points and had the put-back game-winner vs Bishop Lynch with 1.5 seconds left to secure the win.  All year long we were striving to continually improve and play our best basketball of the year in March, and we achieved that goal in winning the state championship.

The Cardinals finished the year with a 31-7 record and captured the team's third straight district championship.  JPII has amassed a 124-20 record over the last four seasons, a winning percentage of 86%, to go along with state titles in 2019-2020 and 2021-2022.  With district and state superlative voting right around the corner, it's safe to expect another monster haul for the Cards is on the way.  Congratulations to all the players, Coach Lee and the rest of the coaching staff on a wildly successful season!  A special thank you to our five Cardinal seniors, Sammy Assad, Matthew Frantz, Jacob Hernandez, Owen McSpadden, and Eli Obaseki for their leadership during their time in the program, you have truly left your legacy!