SAN ANTONIO — Brazos Beck lived New Home basketball.
In his final game wearing the mantra on his back, Beck did exactly as asked. He played HST — hard, smart and together with his teammates.
Whether it was diving into the scorer’s table to chase a loose ball or returning after a tweaked ankle late in regulation, Beck did coach Koby Abney proud.
It showed on Abney’s face as he choked up talking about his longtime bench companion.
“It’s going to feel weird to, next year, turn around and Brazos not be somewhere on our sideline, because it’s been a long time,” Abney said of the former sixth-grade manager. “And this could be any one of our kids … he’s just a phenomenal kid. He comes from a great family. He’s a godly, Christian man. He’s a leader. He leads the right way. He’s a young man that, if he was dating your daughter, you’d be ecstatic. …
“He is everything that we want someone to be a part of our program to be. … He’s everything HST ought to be.”
Beck finished with eight points, five rebounds, two assists and five steals in Thursday’s heartbreaking overtime loss to Lipan. His impact wasn’t entirely printed on the box score.
The New Home captain had the dubious honor of following Lipan’s top scorer, Court Gaylor. Beck also willed his team in tough moments, despite aggravating a bothersome ankle. He exited for 41 seconds late in the fourth quarter.
There wasn’t going to be anything keeping him off the floor. The time with his teammates was too precious.
Beck experienced a lot with New Home. Two state-tournament appearances and four district championships were part of the fun. He even got to watch an 80-game district winning streak and add to it once he got to high school.
That ended this season, but the result became a blessing. The loss to Plains gave the Leopards areas to work on, improvements that boosted New Home back to the Alamodome.
Abiding by HST didn’t hurt, either.
The way Beck displayed that, especially in his swan song, will be a shining example for the future.
“It was fun … full of ups and downs,” Beck said of his senior campaign. “… Glory to God because we’re here. And not many people get to do that.”
SAN ANTONIO — After the longest two minutes of either coach’s career, referees ruled New Home’s apparent game-winner came after the buzzer.
The Leopards had possession with 0.3 seconds and Caleb Cook converted his shot. But after review, the referees deemed it late in a 40-39 overtime win by Lipan in a Class 2A state semifinal Friday at the Alamodome.
It was the second crucial play at the buzzer, as regulation ended with a missed 3-pointer by Lipan’s Court Gaylor.
New Home defense up bright and early
The Leopards defense got an early wake-up call and responded. New Home had four steals as part of five forced turnovers in the opening period to take a 9-8 lead.
Lipan’s Court Gaylor got loose for a string of three consecutive 3s in the second quarter to build a 22-12 advantage, but the Leopards clamped down the final 3 minutes, 52 seconds of the half.
New Home forced three turnovers during a 7-0 run to close the second quarter. Lipan attempted one shot in the stretch and held a 22-19 edge.
The Leopards finished with 17 points off 18 turnovers.
Caleb Cook, Court Gaylor duel on offense
Cook, whose first five points gave the Leopards an early 9-6 advantage, led a balanced attack on offense. He scored eight points in the first half then added seven in the third quarter.
Cook had five consecutive points in the third period to give New Home its largest lead at 33-27. He finished with a team-high 17 points.
Gaylor did it in a different fashion but powered Lipan. The freshman son of coach Brent Gaylor made five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 27 points.
New Home continues quest for first state final
In the program’s third state tournament, the Leopards were agonizingly close to their first title bout.
Lipan ousted New Home last year, and Moulton did the deed in 1989. The Bobkatz beat the Leopards 65-61 in New Home’s first semifinal appearance. The Leopards’ three defeats have all been within eight points.