Kimball guard Keith Frazier showed in the first half that he could nail 3-pointers from well behind the arc. But in the Dallas ISD/Coca-Cola Tournament championship game Thursday night, his biggest shots came from 15 feet, with nobody in his face.
Frazier sunk a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to help Kimball hold off Hillcrest, 56-53, and defend its tournament title at Ellis Davis Field House.
“I just had to take my time and knock them down,” said Frazier, who finished with 26 points and was named tournament MVP. “I had to do it for our team.”
Hillcrest still had a chance to tie with a 3, but Tim Singleton’s attempt bounced off the rim just before the buzzer. That allowed Kimball (17-3), which never trailed in the game, to walk off as champs again.
“This tournament is where great players are made,” Kimball coach Royce Johnson said. “This is your coming-out.”
Frazier, one of the nation’s top recruits in the Class of 2013, didn’t really need to be introduced. With three minutes left, it didn’t look like his free throws would be needed.
Frazier grabbed a rebound off his own miss and scored to give Kimball a 48-41 lead. But Hillcrest (15-3) battled back as Kimball missed free throws. The Knights, the defending Class 4A state champions, made only 1-of-4 as Hillcrest cut the lead to 51-49 on a basket by Dikimbae Newton with 33 seconds left.
Frazier, a transfer from Irving, made all four of his free throws after that, and Shannon Lilly made one of two.
Kimball, the No. 2 team in the 4A state rankings, stretched its lead to 28-16 in the second quarter on a defense-stretching 3-pointer by Frazier, who knocked down four of them in the game. Hillcrest countered with Roderick Tasby, who also nailed four 3-pointers. His third one cut Kimball’s lead to 34-29 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Julius Foster followed with a fastbreak layup to trim the lead to three, and Kimball could never pull away after that.
South Grand Prairie 73, Lincoln 41: South Grand Prairie, coming off a disappointing loss to Hillcrest in Wednesday's semifinals, busted out to a 21-4 lead after one quarter and was never threatened in the DISD Coca-Cola Tournament's third-place game.
Guard Jovan Austin led all scorers with 15 points and center Chris Washburn added 14 and dominated the lane for SGP (18-2), which is No. 4 in the state 5A rankings. Lincoln (11-7), which is No. 18 in the 4A state rankings, got 14 points from Shirmane Thomas.
DISD/COCA-COLA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Keith Frazier, Kimball
Zachary Coleman, Woodrow Wilson
Bryan Umoru, South Oak Cliff
Jaryn Johnson, South Grand Prairie
Shirmane Thomas, Lincoln
Marcus Mathieu, Plano East
Braylon Rayson, West Mesquite
Roderick Tasby, Hillcrest
Julius Foster, Hillcrest
D'Angelo Allen, Kimball
Shannon Lilly, Kimball