Tatum players celebrate after defeating Iowa Park on Tuesday to advance to Friday’s Class 3A Division state championship game in San Antonio. The Eagles are set to face Columbus at 1 p.m. (Audrey Blaschke/Henderson News)

The climb to the top of the mountain often takes more than one attempt.

For the Tatum Eagles, last year’s try — and the experience gained from coming up just short — was one key component to the success the team has enjoyed in 2024-2025.

“I thought we had a chance to win it all last year, but it’s hard to do,” said Tatum veteran head coach Brett Carr, who will lead the Eagles into battle against the Columbus Cardinals on Friday with the Class 3A Division I state title on the line.

“When we lost to Paradise (58-53 in the regional semifinals) last year, it was difficult. But, at the same time, it was a great learning tool. It really emphasized some weaknesses and made us realize we had to change some things or we would never be able to do it.”

Tatum (30-2) and Columbus (17-2) will meet at 1 p.m. on Friday at the Alamodome in San Antonio for the championship. Tatum rolled to a 77-38 win over Iowa Park on Tuesday in the state semifinals in Mansfield, while Columbus was an 82-62 winner over Onalaska on Tuesday.

Tatum is making its fifth trip to the state tournament and its first since the 2021 season. Other visits came in 2003, 2011 and 2014.

Columbus is at the big dance for the third time in school history and the first since 1983. The Cardinals also advanced to the tournament in 1980.

Tatum opened the season with four straight wins, and then fell in triple overtime to Jefferson on Dec. 10 — a victory the Eagles avenged a week ago in the regional finals in convincing, 70-42 fashion.

The Eagles raced out to a 24-2 lead in that game, and on Tuesday they took control early against Iowa Park.

“The kids have just taken up the challenge, and they’ve come to play,” Carr said of the quick starts in the previous two contests. “You’re always concerned when it’s a big game like a regional final or a state semifinals, but they’ve been ready.”

Balance has been the key for the Eagles, and that balance was on full display Tuesday when JaCorie Bradley scored 17 points, Jordan Chambers and Luke Sigler had 16 apiece, Cayden Tatum and Cooper Whiteus added 10 apiece, Nalayus Boyd scored four and Nick D’Souza and Brandon Howard got into the act with a bucket apiece.

Bradley leads the Eagles in scoring at 21.3 points per game, adding 7.7 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 5.1 assists.

“JaCorie is a scorer, but he’s come full circle and realized winning requires other things,” Carr said. “A lot of the offense still generates through him, but in the last three games especially he’s done a great job breaking down the defense and delivering to the guys to finish it off.”

Sigler (15.8), Whiteus (11.6), Chambers (11.3) and Tatum (10.4) all score in double figures for the Eagles, with Chambers adding 6.6 rebounds and two steals per game, Sigler 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 steals, Whiteus 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 steals and Tatum 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals.

“On the other side, our defense — it’s never perfect — but the amount of pressure Cooper and Cayden have put on the opponent’s backcourt has been special,” Carr said. “When you’re able to do that, it lets you dictate a lot of other things.”

Carr said Tatum’s last trip to the state tournament back in 2021 left an imprint on this year’s squad.

“They were eighth graders the last time we went,” he said. “My eighth grade coach got them all down there. They followed us through the playoffs. The energy was there, and it’s something they decided they wanted to be part of.”

After falling to Jefferson back on Dec. 10, the Eagles reeled off nine wins in a row before falling to Kountze (69-68) in a tournament on Dec. 28. Since that loss, Tatum has won 17 in a row by an average of 36.7 points.

Columbus, which won the Class 3A Division I football title back on Dec. 19, got a late start on the season and has played just 19 games.

The Cardinals won three in a row to open the year, and then fell to Rice Consolidated and Yoakum before embarking on its current 14-game winning streak.

NOTES: Rounding out Tatum’s roster this season are Grayson Lee, Kenneton Harrison, Quincy Davis, Carlos Hernandez, Namhun Kim, Koby Bridges and DaMarion Tolbert. Assistant coaches are Jayme Bradley, Daniel Carr, Henry Brown and Clancy Parker.