Chapel Hill basketball seniors Braylon Miller, Trevor Brooks, Jorden Ford, Demetrius Brisbon, Braylen Allen and Jordyn Bradshaw with head coach Akimba Johnson. (Brandon Ogden/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

NEW CHAPEL HILL — An 11-1 run in the fourth quarter helped Chapel Hill grab a 53-42 win over Kilgore to win the District 16-4A championship on Friday night at Bulldog Gym.

It is the third consecutive district championship for Chapel Hill, which Chapel Hill head boys basketball coach Akimba Johnson said is a first in program history.

Chapel Hill also avenged its lone district loss, a 59-43 setback at Kilgore on Jan. 14.

Chapel Hill jumped out to a 9-2 lead. Kilgore battled back to cut the score to 9-7. With the score at 11-10, Chapel Hill went on a 6-0 run before Michigan football signee Jayden Sanders made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the score to 17-13.

Kilgore quickly tied the score at 17 to start the second quarter. Two free throws by Jorden Ford and a reverse layup by Trevor Brooks put Chapel Hill ahead 21-17.

In the final 15 seconds of the first half, Kilgore got triples from Dre’ Sanders and Jayden Sanders to take a 23-21 lead at halftime.

After Ford made a layup in the first four seconds of the second half to tie the score at 23, Sanders scored twice to put Kilgore back up 27-23. Chapel Hill went on a 6-0 run and then Kilgore got baskets from Brayden Williams and Bisyn Williams to regain the lead. Chapel Hill came back to take a 33-31 lead in the final minute of the third quarter on a floater by Brooks. After Brayden Williams tied the score, Jordyn Bradshaw made a free throw with nine seconds on the clock to give Chapel Hill a 34-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

A Kayson Brooks jumper put Kilgore ahead 35-34 early in the fourth quarter before Chapel Hill’s 11-1 run stretched the lead to 9, 45-36. Kilgore cut the deficit to 5, 47-42, with 1:31 remaining, but a late 3-pointer by Bradshaw and a 3-point play by Marquis Collins sealed the victory.

“I tell everybody all of the time, our kids are resilient,” Johnson said. “We’ve got resilient kids. Our kids do a great job. I tell people all the time that our kids are locked in and they play hard.”

With 1:02 left in the third quarter, a double technical was called on Kilgore’s J.T. Towns and Chapel Hill’s Demetrius Brisbon. Kilgore’s Jacory Walton and Xavier Barnes were then ejected from the contest for leaving the bench.

Following the game, during the handshake line, tempers began to flare again, and school officials and law enforcement had to separate the teams and get them off of the court, while also trying to get the fans out of the gym.

Malik Gee led Chapel Hill (28-5, 12-1) with 14 points. Ford had 13 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Bradshaw had 9 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Brooks had 8 points and seven rebounds. Collins had 7 points, and Brisbon had 2 points and three steals.

Jayden Sanders led Kilgore (11-13, 10-3) with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Towns had 8 points, six rebounds and four steals. The Williams duo each had 6 points with Bisyn grabbing nine rebounds and Brayden with eight boards. Kayson Brooks had 5 points, and Dre’ Sanders scored 3 points.

Before the game, Chapel Hill honored seniors Brisbon, Braylen Allen, Braylon Miller, Ford, Brooks and Bradshaw.

“This group, they’re a bunch of winners,” Johnson said. “That’s what they do, they win. These guys, they’ve been doing everything I’ve asked them to since the seventh grade. It’s just a testament to their dedication and their hard work. I’m thankful for these six seniors.”

Chapel Hill will play at Carthage on Tuesday, and Kilgore will host Gilmer.