By Mike Waters / Contributor
WACO — Parish Episcopal was not ready to relinquish its grip on the TAPPS 6A boys basketball championship without a fight.
The Panthers rallied from an early 22-point deficit, but the defending champions came up short in their bid for a repeat crown after a buzzer-beating bank shot by Bo Ogden of Austin St. Michael’s on Saturday. As a result, Parish fell 50-48 in a title-game thriller and finished as the runner-up in the 6A division for the second time in the past three years.
Parish guard Torrey Mitchell converted a three-point play with 1:15 remaining that deadlocked the score at 48-48. The Panthers regained possession when Richard Batz drew a charging foul.
However, a missed shot gave the ball back to St. Michael’s with 30 seconds left. Parish almost forced a turnover as the clock was winding down, but following a St. Michael’s timeout with five seconds left, Ogden drove down the right side and hit the short-range shot over multiple defenders.
Early on, it was very much one-sided. The Warriors exploded for an 8-0 lead that stretched to 24-10 after the first quarter and ballooned to 32-10 moments later.
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A Parish timeout proved pivotal in stemming the St. Michael’s offensive fireworks and generated some momentum for the Panthers (33-4).
“St. Michael’s came out so very hot,” said Parish Episcopal head coach Ahmad Ajami. “Our defense stiffened and they [St. Michael’s] missed some shots they were making earlier.”
Mitchell ignited the Parish offense, hitting a basket and adding a pair of free throws, that fueled a 10-0 Parish run that trimmed the deficit to 32-20 at halftime.
The rally carried over to the third period. Consecutive baskets by junior Antoine Almuttar sliced the deficit to eight. Mitchell’s bucket capped a 14-4 Parish third-period advantage that left the Panthers down 36-34 entering the frantic final stanza.
A Batz basket to begin the fourth period knotted the score, and Mitchell’s two-pointer gave Parish its first lead, 38-36, with 6:42 remaining.
After Ogden’s pair of free throws tied the game, Hudson Lucas and Armon Almuttar — Antoine’s twin brother — gave Parish a four-point lead with 4:57 left.
But Parish was unable to contain Ogden, a top college recruit who hit a basket on the next St. Michael’s possession, then converted three free throws — he was 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the game —leaving Parish down 43-42 with 3:54 left.
Paul Dalcour banked in a three-point basket with 2:42 left for a 45-43 Parish advantage, which turned out to be its last lead in the contest.
Mitchell, who repeatedly made clutch plays throughout the contest, tied the score at 48-48 with his driving layup three-point play. That set the stage for the wild finish that left Parish so very close to back-to-back state championships.
“I’m so very proud of how the guys fought back,” Ajami said. “We knew coming in what a challenge this would be. Two great teams. We just came up a little short.”
The Panthers were led by Mitchell’s team-leading 12 points with Batz adding 11. The senior guards have been instrumental in the recent ascension of the program.
“Both are four-year players,” Ajami said of the duo, who were named to the all-tournament team alongside Antoine Almuttar. “They have meant so much to the program.”
Ogden had a game-high 15 points for the Warriors (32-4), who made their third consecutive state tournament appearance and won their first title since 2004.
