Chireno advances past Lapoynor, will face Martin’s Mill in regional final

Published 10:39 pm Tuesday, March 3, 2026

ELKHART — Tuesday night’s regional semifinal matchup was the furthest the Chireno boys’ basketball team had ever been before, but the Owls are going even further after a 58-52 overtime win over the LaPoynor Flyers at Slocum High School Tuesday night.

“Our defense dug in and helped them down the stretch,” Chireno head coach Darren Cook said. “Both teams had some nerves but I thought we finally overcame that as the game went on. In the second half, they hit some tough shots, tied it up and sent it to overtime. It was a great game.”

The Owls will enter the fourth round with an overall record of 29-5 while LaPoynor’s season ends with an overall record of 28-6.

More than a minute had passed before the first points were scored. Tate Rogers drained a shot from beyond the arc to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead. Matt Williams went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line to add to the lead. Garrett Sanford pulled down a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup to put the Owls on the scoreboard. Cohen Snyder added a layup before Sanford tacked on his second field goal of the night to make it a three-point game. Tate Johnson went 1-for-2 from the line to make it a two-point game.

Caden Higginbotham came up with a steal that led to a three from Johnson, giving the Owls their first lead of the night, 8-7. Elijah Williams gave the lead back to LaPoynor with a pair of free throws. James Johnson did the same on the other end to give the lead back to Chireno. Just seconds later, Snyder tossed in two more points, putting the Flyers back in the lead. He tacked on a free throw to complete the three-point play. Destin Brittain knotted with a pair of free throws, making the score 12-12 with one quarter in the books.

Higginbotham tipped ina missed shot for the first points of the second quarter to break the tie. Elijah Williams tied it back up with two foul shots. Sanford gave the Owls a three-point lead with a shot from beyond the arc. Snyder dished it off down low to Elijah Williams for the assist to make it a one-point game.

A layup from Tate Johnson and Sanford went 2-for-2 from the foul stripe. Rowdy Smith knocked down a three before Ceygan Dotson drained a two to put the Owls up 22-19. Elijah Williams drained two foul shots to make it a one-point game again. That was the final bucket of the first half as Chrieno led 22-21 at halftime.

Snyder scored the first points of the second half, putting the Flyers back on top. Matt Williams’ layup made it a three-point lead. Sanford scored Chireno’s first points of the half and James Johnson banked in a shot to force yet another lead change. Snyder recorded an and-one before Brittain scored on the other end, but couldn’t add the free throw to complete the and-one. That knotted it up at 28.

Sanford scored back-to-back buckets. That made the score 32-30 in favor of the Owls. After a timeout Elijah Williams drained a three from the top of the key. Brittain responded with a two to put Chireno on top. Another bucket from Elijah Williams put the Flyers back on top by two points. Tate Rogers scored the final bucket of the quarter, tying it up 37-37 heading into the fourth quarter.

Sanford found Higginbotham for the assist for the first points of the fourth quarter. Brittain went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line to spread Chireno’s lead to four points. Keshon Williams cut the lead in half. Sanford banked in a shot before Smith drained a three from the corner to make it a one-point game. Sanford brought it back to three.

With 2:20 left in regulation, Matt Williams drained a three to tie it up at 45. Chireno called a timeout. The Owls’ next possession saw them pass the ball around to milk the clock. Higginbotham was fouled and unable to break the tie with a free throw. The Flyers took their turn to drain the clock. Snyder tossed in a layup to give LaPoynor a 47-45 lead. Sanford went to the line where he made the first but missed the second. Higginbotham pulled down the rebound and went up for a shot but was fouled and sent to the line with 17.6 seconds left. He missed the first but made the second, tying it up at 47.

The Flyers were called for a five-second violation on an inbounds pass, giving the ball back to Chireno with 13.6 seconds to go. Brittain drained a three from the corner, giving the Owls a 50-47 lead with 2.4 seconds to play.

A foul was called against the Owls but it wasn’t called a shooting foul. That gave the Flyers the ball with one second left. The pass went to WIlliams in the corner, as he drained a three to tie the game up and bring it into overtime, 50-50.

The Flyers started off overtime with the ball and took it down to near the halfway point of the period. Matt Williams went 1-for-2 from the line to score. Sanford made a juke to fake the defender and went to score on the layup. Chireno’s defense came up with a steal and its offense passed the ball around to drain the clock. James Johnson was fouled and sent to the line where he sank them both to make it a three-point game. The Owls came up with a defensive rebound on the other end and that put James Johnson back at the line. He made them both to make it a five-point game.

Snyder went to the line where he made the first and missed the second. The Owls came down with a rebound and that led to Sanford rebounded a missed throw and put it back up for the final points of the game, as the Owls sealed up the 58-52 win.

Sanford was the game’s leading scorer with 26 points. Brittain was next in line with 11, followed closely by James Johnson with 10. Tate Johnson scored six points. Caden Higginbotham finished with three points while Dotson scored two points.

The Owls will take on Martin’s Mill at a time and location to be determined.