In two highly-anticipated University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 6A, D1 semifinal games, two of the nation’s top five teams in the FAB 50 went down in flames to clubs on the bubble. We offer a quick breakdown of what happened and what it means in the national picture.
RELATED: UIL 6A D1 Semifinal Previews | FAB 50 Rankings
Going into Tuesday night’s UIL Class 6A, D1 semifinals, the country waited to see if FAB 50 No. 3 Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) and No. 4 Allen (Texas) would set up a highly-anticipated showdown in the state final Saturday evening at the Alamodome in San Antonio. After all, Brennan had been pointing to this moment for three years and was two games away from its two-year quest of winning a UIL state title.
Allen, meanwhile, had lost only one game in overtime (to Brennan) and was eager to get its rematch with the Bears on Texas’ biggest high school hoop stage.
Not only did the matchup fail to materialize, but neither team will head to San Antonio after both clubs fell to unranked teams in stunning fashion on Tuesday evening.
After building a lead as big as 18 points in the first half, unranked and 10-loss Bellaire (Texas) held off a late Brennan (33-3) rally to take down the nation’s No. 3 team, 65-57, before a packed housed at Texas Southern University. Meanwhile at Coppell High School, bubble club Duncanville (Texas), the 2022 FAB 50 National Champs under coach David Peavy and the UIL’s top ranked cub between 2019 and 2023, could earn that mantle once again in 2025 after taking down Allen, 77-74, after a last second 3-point heave to potentially tie the game was off the mark.
Brennan’s loss was the first to a UIL club all season. Brennan’s only losses before Tuesday night were to No. 41 DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) and to fellow WCAC club St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) in games played in the nation’s capital. It was a tough blow for a seasoned team with a realistic goal of becoming the first San Antonio club to win a state title in the UIL’s top classification since the 2001-02 season. That year, Jay upset Kimball, 54-53, in the Class 5A title game (the top classification then) on a half court desperation heave by Chris Ross. Ironically, that season Chris Bosh-led Class 4A champ Dallas Lincoln captured the FAB 50 title with a 40-0 mark.
Incredible.
No. 6 Duncanville beats No. 2 Allen 74-77 in the 6A Division I state semifinal.
This had to be the game of the year.
On to San Antonio for the Panthers. @SportsDayHS @DuncanvilleBB pic.twitter.com/alxCI8XXzh
— Myah Taylor (@t_myah) March 5, 2025
Duncanville, Bellaire Make History of Their Own
Duncanville was the next UIL club to capture the FAB 50 title after Lincoln and even though the Panthers won’t be able to climb to those heights at the end of the season, they are still in the midst of a special campaign. Duncanville (26-7) only has lost twice to clubs in state after taking on a national schedule.
Sophomore Beckham Black and TCU-bound Kayden “Bug” Edwards each scored 19 points for Duncanville, which got an additional 13 points from Cam Smith (Cal-St. Fullerton). Allen (34-2) actually took a 74-72 lead, but never scored again after a costly turnover on an inbounds play. Black hit two late clutch free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining for the Panthers.
Duke-bound Shelton Henderson had a virtuoso performance for Bellaire, which has never won a UIL state title and will play Duncanville at 8 pm Saturday evening. He dominated the interior versus Brennan with 26 points and 20 rebounds and showed why he’s a bonafide Elite All-American candidate at the end of the season. His physicality on both ends of the court was an issue for Brennan, which got as close as 57-52 down the stretch but couldn’t get over the hump.
Kingston Flemmings led Brennan with 23 points, but made only 1-of-10 3-pointers. As a team, Brennan made 5-of-34 shots from behind the arch.
What The Upsets Mean Nationally
Both Brennan and Allen were top five in the country coming in to the week, but both of them weren’t going to finish in the five of the FAB 50 because at least one was going to lose by Saturday, which would be reflected in next week’s rankings. Now both of them will take quite a tumble because neither Duncanville or Bellaire came into the game ranked. Duncanville was in the FAB 50 earlier this season and is jelling at the right time.
Brennan’s victory over No. 5 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) means the Bears will be included in the final FAB 50 rankings. They would definitely like to see Roosevelt go on to capture the programs’ first ever California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Open State title on March 15 in Sacramento. Roosevelt will face either No. 16 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) or No. 40 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) on Saturday at home in the SoCal open regional semifinals. Roosevelt could potentially face No. 14 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) or No. 15 St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.) in the SoCal open final on March 11. That means some of those clubs will definitely be falling in the rankings in the next two weeks and others will be moving back up.
Brennan also owns a victory over No. 30 Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.), which has many quality wins in the DMV region. The final ranking for Brennan and Allen will also be dependent on who wins between Duncanville and Bellaire.
We have a feeling neither Duncanville nor Bellaire will care about its final ranking provided it wins on Saturday evening.
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
