No. 1 Plano East blows open lead in fourth quarter, defeats Keller in regional final

No. 1 ranked Plano East was too much for shorthanded Keller basketball to overcome.

Plano East defeated Keller 76-60 on Saturday in a Class 6A regional final at Wilkerson Greines. Keller was looking for it’s first state tournament appearance since 2017 but fell short after the Panthers blew open their lead in the fourth quarter.

Keller (29-6) defeated North Crowley in the regional quarterfinals and Lewisville in the regional semifinals to get to this point but met its match with Plano East (38-0), who will play in the Class 6A state semifinals on Friday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Keller head coach Zach Weir said the Indians had an “amazing season.” He added they are “good dudes with a special bond who care about one another.”

“This is a special group,” Weir said of his team. “They battled a lot of adversity. They never wavered. Just a relentless bunch of special kids no matter the challenges they were facing. They just keep playing Keller basketball and believing in each other.”

The undefeated Panthers were led by junior DJ Hall, a 6-foot-6 forward who is a big, strong body down low. Hall managed to score 31 points with an undersized Keller team utilizing different defensive looks to contain him.

“He is tough,” Weir said of Hall. “He is a really good player. He’s big. He moves well. You try to mix him up a little bit and hope you catch him off guard. At the end of the day, he did a heck of a job and he responded. Kudos to him and Plano East. They are a really good team.”

The entire game was one of runs, and Plano East started strong with an individual 8-0 run by Hall. It looked as if the Panthers would open an early, sizable lead until Keller’s Rhett Schank got his team back into striking distance with an individual 8-0 run of his own.

The Panthers once again extended their lead but Keller’s Cooper Guerra got his team right back by tallying a four point play from the corner ahead of the second quarter.

The Panthers scored consistently in the second quarter, stretching the lead to 14 points. Every time they got up, however, it seemed Keller had an answer.

Weir said his team showed grit by repeatedly finding ways to get back into the ballgame. He said the team continued to focus on executing the game plan.

“Just focus on us,” Weir said in reflection. “Control what we can control. It doesn’t matter what anyone else does or says. That’s how they’ve been all year. We came up a little short but that doesn’t take away from the things we were able to accomplish this year.”

After scoring in bunches, the Indians cut the Panther lead to five points heading into halftime.

The theme of runs continued and both squads scored in stretches in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, however, Keller’s offense fizzled, and the Indians faced a deficit they couldn’t erase for the first time in the 2024 playoffs.

“I’m so proud of them,” Weir said of Keller. “They need to keep their heads up, and they will. Plano East is a really good team and we are too. ... I can’t say enough about all they have given in terms of dedication.”

Junior Steven Ramirez and Schank led Keller’s offense with 15 points each. The Indians faced an uphill battle without a true big man against the powerful Hall, but Ramirez protected the paint and recorded multiple blocks.

Plano East senior Jordan Mizell was also a significant contributor with 18 points. The Panthers, at the state tournament, will look to secure their 38th consecutive victory.

When it comes to the future of Keller basketball, Weir said it is “heading in the right direction.”

He said the current group of seniors, the first graduating class he has spent all years with, has set the tone for the next generation, and mentioned names such as Alex Peterson, Quinn Estep, Schank and BYU commit Brooks Bahr, who did not play in the playoffs.

Ramirez will provide star power for Keller basketball in his senior season, and Weir said the program has some talented up and coming players. Now, they’re focusing on building on a successful season to get back to state.

“We’ve got to learn from this,” Weir said. “Sometimes, something like this sticks with you. It’s motivation to get back in the gym, to get back in the weight room and to get back in the film room. I like the way we’re headed.”