Damien McDaniel, Hitchcock stun Ponder in Texas high school state basketball title comeback

Down 13, UNLV football commit leads Bulldogs back to second consecutive UIL Class 3A championship

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Damien McDaniel and Lloyd Jones leaned on experience when Hitchcock had its back against the wall in the UIL state championship on Saturday.

And big-game gusto — lots of it.

Both highly-touted football prospects, McDaniel scored 23 points and Jones III added 13 to fuel a 53-49  comeback win over Ponder to repeat as Class 3A state champs at the Alamodone.

The Bulldogs, the favorite, mounted a 12-0 run in the final 12 minutes to win a game it once trailed by 13.

McDaniel, also a three-star wide receiver signed with UNLV, turned a back-court steal into a coast-to-coast layup to put Hitchcock, the Texas coaches' top 3A team, up 51-48 with 1:04 left.

For much of the contest, momentum swung the way of Ponder, which returned to state for the first time since it won in 2014.

The Lions shot 53 percent from the field and built a lead thanks to senior forward Max Hutcherson, who had 13 of his team-high 19 points in the first half.

The 6-foot-2 forward hit a pair of early 3s to help mount a 10-0 second quarter run that put Ponder up 10 at halftime.

Quickly, Hitchcock eroded the lead in the third quarter. Timber Crider pump-faked an elbow 3, drove and dropped a tear drop off the glass to put Ponder up four.

McDaniel responded with a pull-up top-of-the-key transition jumper to stay within two in the final moments of the third quarter.

Hitchcock took the lead with 1:32 left in the game when Jones III, a Texas Tech-committed quarterback, 

In 2023, McDaniel (17) and Jones III (14) combined for 31 points in the state title. Jones III also pulled down 21 rebounds in the blowout of Childress.

Scroll down for photos from the game Saturday. All photos are by Tommy Hays.

Photo by Tommy Hays, SBLive Sports

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx