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South Houston's Elton Dyer runs the fast break against the Titans.
WINNIE -- The high-water mark of South Houston’s attempt to advance in the boys basketball playoffs on Tuesday night occurred about three feet above the rim at East Chambers High School.
It was there, with five minutes left in the third quarter, that high-flyer Elton Dyer grabbed a soaring alley-oop pass from South Houston teammate Jacolby Rogers and rammed it home for a stunning game-tying dunk.
The circus jam was one of two Dyer-induced jolts to favored Port Arthur Memorial’s system, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Titans from rallying in the final two minutes for a 51-48 victory in the playoffs’ opening round.
Dyer, a University of Houston football recruit, led all scorers with 18 points. Sophomore Nick Hernandez, expected to be a major force in the Trojans’ basketball future, scored 15.
South Houston, the third-place team in District 22-5A, held a 46-45 lead as the clock slipped under two minutes. But the Titans, runnersup in District 21-5A, inched ahead on a layup by Joseph Williams with 1:50 remaining and used free throws to put the game away.
The Trojans failed to post a field goal after the 2:47 mark when James Davis scored inside on a feed from Hernandez and tacked on a free throw for the Trojans’ short-lived 46-45 lead.
Dorian Chatman, a 6-6 junior, led the Titans with 15 points, but a 13-point effort from guard Torian Lott proved especially critical. Lott made eight of his nine free-throw attempts in the game. He connected on four of five in the final minute.
Appearing overmatched early, South Houston fell behind by eight before almost pulling even on a stunning burst by Dyer. The Trojans senior hit a 3-point jumper late in the half – his first bucket of the game – and followed that with a slam dunk off a turnover. As a result, the Titans were able to salvage just a meager 25-22 lead at the half.
Memorial grabbed a two-point lead early in the second half, but Chatman clunked an easy dunk into the side of the rim. The Trojans turned the miss into a fast break capped by Dyer’s flying dunk off Rogers’ lofty lob. A minute later, South Houston took a 33-31 lead on a silky, left-handed layup by Dyer.
The teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 37, and the game slipped back and forth until the Titans wrestled control in the final two minutes.
The Trojans finished the season with a 22-11 record.
The Pasadena ISD’s other playoff entry, fourth-place Sam Rayburn, was eliminated in a 77-43 loss to 21-5A champion North Shore in a game played at Deer Park High School on Tuesday night.
South Houston's Jacolby Rogers (15) threads the needle with a pass to James Davis (31) in the first half.
Rogers dribbles around Port Arthur Memorial's Geremiah Lofton.
Dyers sweeps past the Titans' Darren Williams.