'Buc Nation is proud of you': Galveston O'Connell boys basketball advances to state

The Galveston O’Connell Buccaneers boys basketball team throttled San Antonio St. Gerard 80-63 on Feb. 26 in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools 2A Regional Championship at Victoria West High School to advance to the league’s state tournament.

"STATE BOUND!! Congratulations to the Bucs boys on their 80-63 regional championship win over San Antonio St. Gerard!" O'Connell's athletics department wrote on Facebook postgame. "They advance to the TAPPS State Tournament in Waco next week! Great job young men. Buc Nation is proud of you!!"

According to the Galveston Daily News, it'll be O'Connell's first trip to state since 2004.

The Bucs drew district rival Houston Grace Christian in the state semifinals, which is slated for March 2 at 8:30 p.m.

O'Connell began regionals with a 22-2 run after the Royals made the first basket, the Galveston County Daily News reported.

Up by as much as 18 points at the start of the second quarter, the Bucs fell asleep at the wheel and found themselves hanging on to a 36-31 lead over the Royals at halftime.

However, O'Connell snapped out of its funk on the other side of the break to build another commanding double-digit lead and never look back.

The Galveston County Daily News reported that Khristian Johnson was the Bucs' leading scorer with 27 points.

Raphfel Moss and Khristopher Johnson were O'Connell's other double-digit scorers with 21 points and 18 points, respectively. 

Luke Waldrop contributed eight points while Nic Gonzales rounded out the barrage with five.

The final Texas Association of Basketball Coaches high school boys and girls rankings for the 2021-22 season placed O'Connell at third in TAPPS 2A.