HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Timberview frustrates Chapin in blowout win

Chendall Weaver saw a lane to the basket and attacked. The Mansfield Timberview senior slammed the ball home with authority over an El Paso Chapin defender, drawing a foul in the process.

The play was the exclamation point on an 83-56 victory for No. 7 Timberview in the Region I-5A semifinals at Kay Yeager Coliseum. Timberview advances to the region final against fourth-ranked Amarillo High at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Timberview is looking to avenge last season’s 55-34 loss to Amarillo High in the regional semifinals.

“It is so hard to get to the regional tournament. We’ve been fortunate enough to be here quite a bit over the years,” Timberview coach Duane Gregory said. “We’re in a position, you know, with one more win, we’re back in San Antonio. That’s all you can ask for is the opportunity.”

Weaver finished with a double-double, scoring 16 points with 12 rebounds, and his dunk with 3:43 remaining the third quarter defined Timberview’s overall dominance over Chapin. He fell to floor afterward, drawing the foul and knocking down the free-throw to complete the three-point play.

That play put Timberview up 51-32 with 3:43 left in the third quarter, but the game didn’t feel that close.

Timberview dominated from the opening tip, with Donovan O’Day retrieving the ball and slamming it home for the game’s first two points. Timberview scored the game’s first 11 points, while Chapin struggled shooting and protecting the ball.

Chapin standout junior KJ Lewis finished with 25 points with most coming with the game out of hand. Manuel Flores scored 11, and Bryson Goldsmith had 10. Chapin shot just 21 of 65 for the game, but that percentage was boosted by a fourth quarter against Timberview’s subs. Chapin was 11 of 48 from the floor after three quarters.

“It was a team effort (against Lewis),” Gregory said. “We wanted to limit his touches as much as possible. He’s really good, so we wanted to make sure that when he had the ball, he took contested shots. We used three or four guys to guard him. We feel like we can cycle through with multiple guys when we want to focus on somebody.”

O’Day and Jared Washington led Timberview with 19 points, with Samir Dhalle adding 12.

Chapin had plenty of built-in excuses surrounding its performance, starting with the long trip to Wichita Falls from El Paso, that saw them miss out on a Thursday shootaround at Kay Yeager Coliseum. The Huskies also missed the shootaround during halftime of the first semifinal between Amarillo High and Mansfield Summit.

But coach Rodney Lewis wasn’t buying into any of it.

“No excuses. That’s a great team out there that we just played. They’re highly ranked for a reason,” Lewis said. “We allowed them to punch first, and when you let a team like that punch first, you find yourself in a hole you probably can’t get out of.”

Lewis did have something to say about the game’s officiating, though. KJ Lewis was Antwonne Holmes were each benched with three fouls midway through the second quarter, making it more difficult for Chapin to mount a comeback.

“Some of those calls were calls that shouldn’t have been made at this point in the playoffs,” Rodney Lewis said. “But you know, we got to be smarter, be better.”

Regardless, Chapin made program history becoming the first group of Huskies to win 30 games in a season.

“I’m really proud of this team, particularly my seniors,” Lewis said. “This group gave me everything they had. We just ran into a good team here tonight.”

Mansfield Timberview 83, El Paso Chapin 56

Chapin – KJ Lewis 25, Antwonne Holmes 2, Bryson Goldsmith 10, Manuel Flores 11, Martin Eddi 8.

Timberview – Braylon Crosby 4, Chendall Weaver 16, Donovan O’Day 19, Jared Washington 19, Samir Dhalle 12, Daniel Vieira-Tuck 4, Derrick Scott 2, Jaydn Hollis 2, Amare Momoh 3, Lewis Sotello 2.

Chapin 9 17 6 24 -56

Timberview 19 17 21 26 -83

Free throws – (C) 9-14, (T) 27-33. 3-pointers – (C) 5 (Lewis 2, Flores 2, Goldsmith), (T) 4 (Washington, Dhalle, Vieira-Tuck, Sotello).

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Mansfield Timberview vs. El Paso Chapin UIL Class 5A regional semifinal