Panhandle advances to first state championship game

Panhandle basketball is enjoying a moment the town will never forget.

Just days after the girls program brought home another UIL state championship, the Panthers added their own chapter to the story Tuesday afternoon, rolling past Waco Meyer 59–33 in the Class 2A Division I state semifinals at Abilene Christian University. The win sends Panhandle to its first boys basketball state championship game in program history.

With the victory, the Panthers improve to 29–6 and will now prepare for a showdown against San Augustine (23–5) at 5 p.m. Thursday inside the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The trip to the title game is the culmination of a dramatic postseason run. Panhandle enters the championship riding a 17-game winning streak, but the journey has been anything but easy. The Panthers survived a double-overtime thriller in the regional quarterfinals when Landen Andrews delivered two buzzer-beating shots to push Panhandle past Hale Center. In the next round, the team erased a 10-point deficit to defeat Seagraves before grinding out a tough regional championship win over rival Wellington.

All of those challenges seemed to prepare Panhandle perfectly for Tuesday’s semifinal.

The Panthers wasted no time taking control against Waco Meyer. Broxton Robinson and Jacob Herzberg combined for 12 points in the opening quarter to give Panhandle an early edge. In the second period, Caden Armes heated up from the perimeter, scoring eight points and helping stretch the lead to 31–16 by halftime.

Panhandle never slowed down after the break, pushing the margin to 44–19 midway through the third quarter and effectively sealing the game.

Armes led the Panthers with 16 points, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc. Robinson finished with nine points, Luke Schmucker added eight, and Herzberg, Andrews, Tyler Wood, and Cooper Brinkley each chipped in six.

Now, one more challenge remains. San Augustine advanced with a 63–55 semifinal win over Hearne, setting the stage for a state championship clash.

For Panhandle, the mission is simple: keep doing what brought them here and chase history.