Hornets, Eagles Make History in Hoops

By Mike Waters / Contributor

Joey Sims emphatically states that Dillon Watt and Jaxson Thompson form the “best backcourt in the state.”

The dynamic duo validated that praise from the Greenhill boys basketball coach throughout this season, culminating in a convincing 79-65 victory over defending champion Houston Episcopal on Saturday that earned the Hornets their first SPC title in more than a quarter-century.

“They are my go-to guys,” Sims said. “I don’t think there is a better guard combo around. They have just been tremendous for us all season.”

Watt and Thompson tossed in 22 points apiece as third-seed Greenhill (29-4) bolted to a 25-11 first-quarter advantage and maintained a double-digit lead in the final three quarters. 

“We have been a strong team out of the gate all year,” said Sims, in his 11th season at Greenhill. “Later in the regular season schedule and in the playoffs, we focused on finishing. And we finished this one off.”

Watt, a senior who will play in college next season at Army West Point, is the team’s floor general who controls the pace and gets his teammates involved in the action.

“Getting off to a fast start sets the tempo for us. And we did a great job of that all year,” Watt said. “We’ve been close [to winning a championship] the last few years. All that hard work paid off.”

Thompson ensured Greenhill advanced to the title game, knocking down the game-winning shot with 2.1 seconds remaining to give the Hornets a 60-58 semifinal win over rival St. Mark’s the day before. 

Thompson registered a team-leading 22 points in the semifinal triumph, which avenged a regular-season defeat to the Lions on Jan. 17.

In the championship game, Greenhill got a boost from sophomore Eli Sims, who tallied 14 points, all in the second half, nailing a quartet of three-pointers. Kameron Smith added 11 points and was a force in the paint with 14 rebounds.

“Crazy good feeling,” Thompson said after the championship game. “Came out strong. Played our game. And finished.”

Alim Olajuwon, nephew of Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Knights (22-10).

This year’s victory avenged a 56-55 Greenhill title-game loss to the Knights in 2022, the last season the SPC had a single bracket format for winter sports. The organization adopted split divisions (4A and 3A) in most sports beginning with the 2022-23 year.

St. Mark’s, which was seeking its 19th overall SPC boys basketball crown and first since 2020, claimed third place with a 51-36 victory over Houston Christian.

Greenhill, which last won both boys and girls basketball titles the same season in 1999, almost duplicated that feat, but the girls dropped an 80-62 contest to top seed Houston Kinkaid in their championship game on Saturday.

The Hornets (25-8) kept pace in the first half. Diya Jain drilled a 3-pointer with just under two minutes left in the second period to give Greenhill a 37-35 advantage. However, Kinkaid scored the quarter’s final six points, then exploded for a 21-4 streak to begin the third stanza to put the game out of reach.

“We played a good first half,” said longtime Greenhill head coach Darryn Sandler. “Then Kinkaid really got it going in the third quarter and we never recovered.”

Greenhill was led by sophomore Ava John, who tallied a team-high 24 points. Jain added 16 points, including 14 in the first half.  Vivian Franklin, a Cal Poly signee, chipped in with 13. The Hornets were riding a 15-game winning streak entering the title matchup.

“I am so proud of this team,” Sandler said. “Tremendous season. We just came up short.”

In Class 3A, top seed Episcopal School of Dallas captured the girls championship — its initial SPC girls hoops crown — with a 39-33 victory over the No. 2 seed Fort Worth Country Day.

Tatum Reynolds scored a game-high 16 points while freshman Nahla Whittier contributed 11 for the Eagles (13-7), who finished the season on a nine-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, the ESD boys narrowly missed their first SPC championship since 2010, falling to defending champion Austin St. Andrew’s 58-50. The Eagles (20-14) were paced by sophomore Khizer Salmon with a team-high 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Drew Guy and Dario Benaglia added seven points apiece.

“We got here to the finals,” said ESD boys coach Corey Henderson. “We know what it takes to get here and the future is bright for this team. Our kids represented the school and community very well. So proud of the six seniors we have on the team. They showed great leadership.”

Elsewhere at the SPC winter championships, Greenhill was the 4A boys soccer runner-up after falling 3-0 to Houston Episcopal. Hockaday lost in the 4A girls championship game 2-1 against Austin St. Stephen’s.

In swimming, St. Mark’s claimed its third straight SPC team title, and 19th since 2001. Ethan Wang broke school records in the 200-yard individual medley and 100 butterfly, while George Hoverman set a new 100 breaststroke mark.

The Lions also had three individual gold medalists in wrestling — Ferris Gottlich (113 pounds), Zach Golle (120 pounds), and Wyatt Loehr (165 pounds) — as part of a fifth-place team finish.