SAN ANTONIO — The Port Arthur Memorial Titans will always remember the Alamodome.

Here, the Titans won a state championship that no team from their city had won in 23 years, and they did the job in comeback fashion.

The party begins … pic.twitter.com/obegkEJBJ5

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— I.C. Murrell (@ICMurrellPB) March 10, 2018

 

Darion Chatman scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half and sparked a big second-half turnaround as Memorial, the fourth-ranked team in UIL Class 5A, beat Justin Northwest 75-69 on Saturday for its first athletic team state championship — and the 10th basketball title in the city’s history. Chatman was named the 5A state tournament’s most valuable player for his takeover.

He said he was shocked to win the honor.

“I thought Wes [Thailan Wesley] was going to get it,” Chatman said. “I’m really going to give it to Wes.

The victory left third-year head coach Kenneth Coleman plenty to be thankful for. He left a job at a refinery after 23 years to get into the coaching business in 2004, starting at Memorial when the school entered just its third year of existence.

“All praise and glory be to God,” Coleman said. “Now, you can ask any question you want.”

Lincoln, Coleman’s alma mater which won seven UIL crowns and another in the old Prairie View Interscholastic League — was the last from Port Arthur to win it all in 1995, when it was led by future NBA star Stephen Jackson. Thomas Jefferson won a UIL title in 1957.

Coleman remembers the glory days all too well.

“I’ve seen it done before,” the 1978 Lincoln graduate said. “We won seven state titles in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and we need to start that run again.”

Kenneth Coleman has a lot to be thankful for pic.twitter.com/69vZiCHunI

— I.C. Murrell (@ICMurrellPB) March 11, 2018

The Titan fans made up a large portion of 12,058 inside the Alamodome, which has hosted the finals for four years.

History from decades past and recent was on the side of the Titans (34-5), who have won 26 straight games and until Saturday had not trailed by a double-digit margin during the streak. Northwest (34-6) led 33-23 with 2:47 left in the second quarter after Julien Smith made a jump shot and Sammie Freeman made 1 of 2 free throws on a foul away from the ball.

In typical fashion, Memorial dug into the lead and trailed 36-33 at halftime. Following an Avery Anderson alley-oop and free throw, Jamyus Jones sank a three-point shot with 1:04 left in the second quarter to set the halftime score.

“We play [each game] one at a time, and a 10-point lead is not very much, especially if you’re pressing,” Coleman said. “The thing is, once we get behind, you’re really going to get pressed, now, because we have to get back in it. …

“We never flinched. I told them, as long as we stayed in the contest, we were going to be good.”

Memorial began the second half on a nearly 4-minute field goal drought and was 1-for-14 shooting at one point. Northwest extended its lead to 45-36 with 3:04 left in the third on a Mason Hix three-pointer. Hix had a game-high 27 points and pulled down six rebounds.

Wesley, the Titans’ leading scorer on the season, had seven of his team-high 21 points in the third quarter, but he had to leave the game late in the third period with four fouls.

“I really wanted to get back out there and help my team out there, but it’s a team effort,” Wesley said. “So I just had to challenge my team that they were going to perform out there.”

Coleman said each Titan played his role to the fullest.

“We do some things that allows Wesley to run out,” he added. “He doesn’t have a green light but the neon light. Chatman knows he has to give other people the ball, penetrate and stuff like that. Everybody plays a role and nobody has a problem with that role.”

The Texans battled foul trouble of their own as the game wore on, and the Titans took advantage. Northwest had four players on the floor each with four fouls in the final minutes, and Chatman took advantage by going on a personal 10-2 rally and scoring off the dribble.

“They gave me lanes, but I had seen the fans and I’d seen my team, and I knew if I wanted to win a championship, I knew I had to do something,” Chatman said. “So, I did what I had to do to win the championship.”

Chatman’s two free throws with 5:26 left put Memorial in front, 57-56, since Jomard Valsin took the opening top and drove for a layup.

In a matter of 3 minutes, 10 seconds, that lead grew to 66-57. Memorial shot 7 for 10 during the final 8 minutes to finish up 22 for 56.

The closest the Texans could come was 73-69 after Emmett Johnson sank a three-pointer with 11 seconds to go. But the Titans made 10 of 14 free throws in the final 2:16 to wrap up their championship.

Jomard Valsin had 14 points and Clover 11 points in the win. Freeman scored 11 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for Northwest.

 

FOUL TROUBLE

Northwest coach Michael Hatch was left to rue the foul trouble that eventually turned the tide against his Texans.

They were whistled for 28 fouls, many of them called in 50-50 ball situations.

Freeman, Anderson and Smith all fouled out.

“When you’ve got four guys with four fouls on the floor, it makes it tough,” Hatch said, adding the Texans went to a zone defense as they were forced to be less aggressive.”

At the end of the day, Chatman helped the Titans capitalize.

“I thought they took the fight to us,” Hatch said. “I thought No. 4 [Chatman] took over.”

 

GAMBLE STILL COACHING

A case can be made for James Gamble as Memorial’s biggest supporter.

Gamble built the Lincoln program into a dynasty by winning state championships in 1981, 1984, 1986 and 1988. He retired after his fourth title but came back to coach the Bumblebees for just the 1998-99 season and led them to a state runner-up finish.

Gamble walked from his front-row seat to the Titans’ bench on the other side of the court during the third quarter, imparting his wisdom on the Titans.

“He said to take our time and shoot the ball,” Chatman said. “We’re rushing our shots, and if we’re rushing our shots, we’re not going to make too many. He told us to keep our composure when we take our jump shots. It made a big impact in the end.”

I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews

 

**CORRECTS quote reference**