Defending state champs Flower Mound Marcus and Kimball will play for a return trip to Austin in the University Interscholastic League’s boys regional basketball tournaments Friday and Saturday.
Flower Mound Marcus (35-2) faces North Crowley (32-4) at 6 p.m. Friday at Fort Worth’s Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center. The game is a rematch of last year’s 5A Region I semifinals. Behind the play of Division I signees Marcus Smart, Phil Forte and Nick Banyard, Marcus has made the state tournament the last two seasons.
South Grand Prairie (34-2) — ranked No. 3 in 5A in the final TABC rankings — could face the winner in the 5A Region I final.
DeSoto (32-5) looks to make its return to state after winning the 2009 5A title at the 5A Region II tournament at Baylor’s Ferrell Center, potentially playing Garland Naaman Forest (27-7) in the final.
Defending 4A champ Kimball (30-5) could meet district rival South Oak Cliff (29-7) in the Class 4A Region II final on Saturday at Garland’s Special Events Center. South Oak Cliff won both District 11-4A meetings by three-point margins.
Along with Argyle (29-8), Wilmer-Hutchins (26-7) will play in the Class 3A Region II tournament in Commerce. In its first year after reopening, Wilmer-Hutchins could make a return trip to the state tournament — of sorts. Several of its players were on last year’s A. Maceo Smith team, which made the 3A semifinals.
