Argyle picked up its 30th win of the season on Friday night in Commerce, beating Texarkana Pleasant Grove with an easy 49-30 win to advance to the Class 3A Region II final on Saturday at 2 p.m.
It’s not JUST a regional final and a chance to punch a ticket to Austin, though. The Eagles will also have a chance at revenge when they face Wilmer-Hutchins for the regional championship and the spot in the Final Four next week in Austin.
You might be saying, “but wait, Argyle lost to A. Maceo Smith last season.” And you’d be right. But A. Maceo Smith closed and most of its students shifted to Wilmer-Hutchins, which reopened. That included all of the significant returners from the basketball team, as well as the coaching staff. As far as Argyle is concerned, the team they face Saturday afternoon might as well be wearing “A. Maceo Smith” on their jerseys.
Argyle lost 63-60 in overtime in that game in what was a devastating defeat. There are four players who were significant contributors last season back on the Eagles this year: starters Clarke Overlander and Connor York and reserve players Zach Dickerson and Andrew Resch, who are both starters this year.
But there’s also a wild card there with Argyle in the form of head coach John King’s son, Wes. Wes King was a starter on the team last season and redshirted this season at Abilene Christian. Whenever he’s home, he sits on the bench. He was actually listed on the regional tournament program as an assistant coach and was dressed up all nice and coach-like, sitting right next to his dad on the Argyle bench.
“You saw Wes King over there,” Overlander said after the semifinal win. “Wes can recall just about every play from that game [against A. Maceo Smith] last year. It’s big for him too. It hurt all of us.”
Should be a fun one tomorrow…