
By Brandon C. Williams
Editor, The Post Newspaper
After falling short of glory last March, Hitchcock’s boys basketball team would not be denied as the Bulldogs rolled past Childress 68-45 to win the state 3A title Saturday in San Antonio, the school’s first state championship.
Hitchcock won their final 22 games en route to the title, finishing the season with a 31-7 record overall.
The Bulldogs put the game away with a 14-3 run to open the fourth quarter, turning a 42-36 lead into a 56-39 advantage that they added to further. Guard Damien McDaniel, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player, scored 17 points along with eight steals, six rebounds and five assists. McDaniel was joined on the 3A all-tourney team by teammates Lloyd Jones III and Elijah Sherwood and Childress’ Aiden Allen and Lamont Nickleberry.
Hitchcock, which lost in the 3A semifinals in 2022, will have more than enough returning talent for coach Chris Jordan to bring the Bulldogs back to San Antonio for a third straight year. Eight players — including all five starters — are coming back for the 2023-24 season.
The victory marked the first state title in a team sport by a Galveston County team since Santa Fe won the 2011 4A state softball championship.
