Kevin Wagner scored six of his game-high 23 points in overtime, and Estacado slipped past Wichita Falls Hirschi 67-64 on Saturday in the Region I-3A championship game at United Spirit Arena.
The third-ranked Matadors (32-4), who lost to Hirschi on Dec. 18, will make their second consecutive trip to the UIL state tournament next week. Estacado, which lost last year’s Class 3A title game to Dallas Madision, is making back-to-back appearances in Austin for the first time in program history.
Clarence Willard added 20 points for Estacado – all after halftime – and was named most valuable player of the regional tournament. Willard’s driving layup at the end of regulation forced overtime, and then he made an alley-oop pass to Wagner for the first field goal of the extra period.
Richard Ross had 19 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots to pace the No. 17 Huskies (24-12), and point guard Darius Thornton scored 14 points. Freshman Marcus Foster came off the bench and hit four 3-pointers en route to 13 points.
