Amarillo High’s Cade Hormecker, left, and teammate Brendan Hausen celebrate during the Sandies 58-41 win over Bell Street rival Randall during a Class 5A regional quarterfinal game at the First United Bank Center on Tuesday. [Trevor Fleeman/ Press Pass Sports]
The general quality of Amarillo-area metro high school basketball was on prominent display for a few hours Tuesday night at a jam packed First United Bank Center, and all three metro teams who played acquitted themselves quite well.
But there was no argument at the end of the night who the best team in town was, not just on this evening, but for the last three seasons.
Following Canyon’s thrilling win over Lubbock Estacado in the Region I-4A quarterfinals, Amarillo High and Randall squared off for the third time this season in the Region I-5A quarterfinals. And that third time was just like the first two, as it wasn’t a charm for Randall.
Amarillo High showed why it’s had state championship aspirrations for the last two seasons, as the veteran team stayed on a roll which has lasted all year long, taking an early lead and cruising to a 58-41 victory. That puts the No. 4 Sandies (31-6) in the region semifinal against Mansfield Summit on Friday at 4 p.m. at Kay Yeager Coliseum in Wichita Falls.
Randall (19-17) showed the toughness it took to win two close playoff games after a play-in game to reach this point, but the Sandies were just too tough.
“Our kids are an experienced, mature team and they understand that you can’t take things for granted,” AHS coach Jason Pillion said. “Winning three times against one opponent is very difficult and they understood that and have been locked in all week.”
While Randall briefly led in the opening minutes, once Amarillo High got the lead, there was no looking back. It was no surprise that Brendan Hausen lit the spark that turned into a blaze.
Hausen, who leads a talented trio of four-year starters and has signed with Villanova, simply carried the Sandies from the start. He hit his first two 3-point attempts and scored 16 points in the first quarter to lead the Sandies to a 23-11 advantage.
That was a fitting way for one of the best players in Amarillo ISD history to bid farewell to fans in his final game which counts close to home, as he led Amarillo High with 22 points.
“I came out and took what the game gave me,” Hausen said. “The guys before the game told me they wanted me to come out and do that. This being my last game around here I wanted to come out and put on a show. The guys trusted me and we all took pride in our role.”
In a lose and your out situation, Hausen’s hot start was what Pillion was expecting.
“That’s what great players do,” Pillion said. “They settle everybody down and bring everybody up. They give the team what they need and I felt (Hausen) did a great job of that early.”
The big difference between the teams was that the Sandies had more of an inside game. While Randall kept from getting blown out by hitting nine 3-pointers, they simply didn’t have a counter for what Amarillo High could do inside.
Hausen went scoreless in the second quarter, but fellow senior Damonze Woods picked up the slack close to the basket. Woods had eight points in the quarter as the Sandies took a 39-23 halftime lead, and Randall was unable to mount a serious threat after that.
“All we really had in mind was to put it all on the line,” said Woods, who finished with 10 points and has signed with UT Arlington. “They had their guards playing way out there with Brendan hitting shots and that just made me an option down low. We’re on schedule but we’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been doing day by day.”
If there’s any consolation Randall can take from the game, it’s that the Raiders resemble the Amarillo High team of two years ago, when Hausen, Woods and 7-foot Cade Hornecker were all starters. Randall started sophomores K.J. Thomas and J.J. Buchanan against Amarillo High.
Individually, Thomas actually upstaged Hausen with a game-high 24 points. But he didn’t have nearly the help that Hausen did, something which has plagued most of Amarillo High’s opponents the last three seasons.
“There’s not very many high school teams who have three Division I players on their team,” Randall coach Leslie Broadhurst said. “Their other guys are really good players too. I thought our kids competed and did a lot of good things, but it was (Amarillo High’s) night. We kind of got in a hole early.”
If there’s a local player ready to take over Hausen’s mantle next season, it’s Thomas. As a sophomore in his first three playoff games, Thomas averaged 22.3 points a game, above what he averaged in the regular season.
Hausen, for one, was impressed by Thomas.
“He’s special,” Hausen said. “I’ve worked out with him a lot. I love his game. He’s confident and I’m proud of what he’s doing. It’s definitely his city next.”
But now, things belong to the Sandies, at least in Class 5A. They aren’t finished yet, and Pillion likes where they stand after reaching the state semifinals last season.
“They’ve enjoyed the journey, but without a doubt there’s an edge to them,” said Pillion of his team. “They have some unfinished business and they don’t like how it ended last year. We’re a little bit closer.”
Randall 11 23 31 41
Amarillo High 23 39 49 58
R— K.J. Thomas 24, Ayden Rodriguez 6, J.J. Buchanan 6. AHS— Brendan Hausen 22, Damonze Woods 10. Records: Randall 19-17, Amarillo High 31-6.
