Graford knocks off defending champ Texline for first boys basketball state title
Graford scored the final six points of the game and the Jackrabbits denied Texline back-to-back state titles, 42-39, in the Class 1A final on Saturday at the Alamodome.
The Jackrabbits (37-3), about 45 minutes west of Weatherford, win their first boys basketball state championship in program history. They had been to state seven previous times.
One trip included the 2015 tournament when Texline beat Graford in the semifinals, 76-48.
“It’s so fulfilling. I’ve won a couple other state titles, but is one is special,” Graford coach Jeff Bell said. “My son got down here two years ago with his team Martin’s Mill and they never step on the floor so this is for him.”
Bell was a longtime coach at Brock and coached the Eagles to state titles in 2002 and 2003. His son and assistant coach Jake Bell was at the state tournament with Martin’s Mill in 2020 before COVID canceled the entire tournament.
“He’s been a big part of it. This is the most fantastic feeling,” Jeff Bell said. “Graford has never won one, they’ve been here, but never won one. It’s so special.”
Texline (34-4) upped its lead to 36-31 with a three-pointer by Will Luther 11 seconds into the fourth quarter. Graford got it back to two on its own three from Christian Shea roughly 90 seconds later.
Graford tied it at 36 with a layup from Teagan Ford.
A Texline three and Graford layup made it 39-38 Texline with 3:50 left in the game.
That would be the final points of the day for the Tornadoes.
Marc Matthews drove to the rim and hit a layup to give the Jackrabbits a 40-39 lead with 2:09 on the clock. Texline missed a shot and turned it over, and missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 64 seconds left.
Graford sealed it with a pair of free throws by Connor Waters with six seconds and Matthews got a steal on the final possession. Matthews was voted state championship MVP with 15 points on 5 of 13 shooting, five rebounds, one assist, one block and four steals.
The Jackrabbits shot 16 of 30 from the floor.
Ford scored a team-high 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting with three rebounds and three assists for Graford.
Luther led all scorers with 25 points on 10 of 20 shooting, seven rebounds and seven steals. However, Texline was limited to just 37% shooting from the floor and 6 of 18 from behind the three-point line.
