Jamiron Keller sent countless shots through the hoop in Ellison’s gymnasium, but Friday’s field goal broke the school record.
Thanks to a 90-41 win over visiting Chaparral, Class 5A’s No. 2 Eagles earned their ninth straight postseason spot. This year, the most prolific player in program history will lead the way to the team’s first state championship.
Keller became Ellison’s all-time scoring leader in the contest’s second basket, surpassing a mark that stood for 30 years, but after the win he admitted the moment was never meant to be. rice field.
“It feels good to see four years of hard work pay off,” said Keller. “But I never dreamed of this.
“It made it easy, and it came naturally.”
Keller finished with a game-high 24 points, taking his career total to 2,284, ending the 30-year reign of Eagles former scoring leader Darius Brown, who set a record in 1993 with 2,263 points. hit the Prefectural tournament participation only.
However, Keller was forced to wait before earning the honor.
Coming into the night with just 3 points tying the mark, Keller scored the first 3 points of the game and made a successful And-1 free throw just 18 seconds into the contest, but a go-ahead shot eluded him. Did.
Keller missed the next eight attempts before the Eagles (27-3, 9-0 District 22-5A) led 21-16 into the second period.
Then, with 6 minutes and 59 seconds remaining until halftime, Keller’s offensive rebounds and putbacks put him ahead of Brown in what Ellison head coach Alberto Jones Jr. believed would be nearly impossible to replicate. set the standard.
“I don’t know if that record will be broken,” he said. “You have to get a lot of points in four years to make that happen, and it’s usually hard to keep a kid of that ability in one place for four years. is showing.
“It may take another 30 years before it breaks, but I don’t think it will.”
After a brief ceremony to celebrate the achievement, Keller scored the last five field goals as the Eagles created a 51-25 halftime advantage in front of Chaparral and en route to a 17-point quarter, making him the 3rd. He continued to show talent on the list, dropping 20-11, 3-6.
In addition to offense, Keller had nine rebounds, senior teammate Dion Ware had 16 points and five assists, and forward Keyshawn Garland added 13 points and four rebounds. , ruining a team-high dozen points for Bobcats junior guard CJ Norwood.
“Just keep the mentality up,” Garland said. “We had a bit of a slow start in the first half, but then picked up.
“In the second quarter, we showed what we can do by stealing the ball and defending.”
Oklahoma commitment Keller scored 1,500 points on Jan. 21, 2022 and averaged 19.6 points over 40 games since then.
And he’s not done yet.
The Eagles have five games left in their regular-season schedule, including a trip to Shoemakers on Tuesday, after which Keller will once again chase Brown in hopes of replicating the team’s 1993 state run. start.
Ellison lost to runners-up Converse Judson 66-57 before advancing to the semifinals. Converse Judson lost his championship game to Fort Worth Dunbar, where he lost 74–64.
Keller is humbly proud to be the Eagles’ all-time leading scorer, but his focus has always been elsewhere.
“I have always been very focused on the end goal of winning a state title,” said Keller. “This is just a by-product of that. I’m not worried about anything other than winning the championship.”
22-5A Men’s Basketball
x-Ellison 9-0
Shoemaker 7-2
Belton 6-3
Waco University 6-3
Chaparral 3-6
Killeen 2-7
Lake Belton 2-7
Waco 1-8
X-Clinch Playoff Spot
friday game
- Belton, 57, Waco University, 54
- No. 2 Ellison 90, Chaparral 41
- Shoemaker 69, Killeen 47
- Waco 48, Lake Belton 42