Just like it was a year ago, Canyon ISD rivals Randall and Canyon High will meet up for a trip to San Antonio after both teams picked up key wins during their respective Region I-4A semifinal matchups on Friday night at the Rip Griffin Center on the campus of Lubbock Christian University.
The Raiders were clutch down the stretch to fend off a very good Krum team 76-66 in the early game while Canyon jumped out to a big lead and never allowed Decatur a window to get back in it as the Eagles took home a 43-31 victory.
This sets up the sixth meeting in a 12-month span between these powerhouse programs with a trip to the UIL Class 4A state tournament on the line when Randall (33-3) takes on Canyon (23-10) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Roles have reversed from a year ago. Last season, it was Canyon as the heavy favorites after sweeping the season series from the Raiders only to see Randall win the third and most important matchup to earn their first ever trip to the UIL state tournament downing Canyon 58-44 in the regional final.
Fastforward to this season, it’s Randall that is the heavy favorite after sweeping the district series from Canyon entering this highly anticipated matchup.
Krum (34-4) gave Randall all it wanted in a very good semifinal game Friday. The Raiders held a 29-27 advantage heading into halftime but found themselves trailing Bobcats 42-39 during the later stages of the third quarter.
The Raiders never panicked going on a 15-0 run to close out the third and open the fourth quarter to take over the game up 52-42. Randall never looked back from that point forward.
Standout guard KJ Thomas did his job scoring a game-high 27 points knocking down three 3-pointers on the night. Randall also got a spark from freshman Christian Smith who posted 20 points on six 3-balls.
From there, Canyon stayed on top 22-16 at the break and then broke the contest open in the third by going up 33-21 before getting the 12-point win.
Post player Kelson Jones registered 16 points with Gage Lunsford complimenting Jones with nine.