Area-Round Playoffs: Central Texas Standouts

UIL Playoffs are officially underway here in Central Texas with 6A and 5A teams beginning their road to the State Championship which started earlier this week. Austin and San Antonio-Metroplex teams are placed in Region 3 and Region 4 of the playoff bracket, with the Area round of the playoffs featuring matchups between teams across Central Texas. This article features standout performances from Central Texas players in the 6A and 5A Area round matchups.   6A/5A Area-round results Boerne-Champion 79 - Harlandale 36 SA Jefferson 62 - Dripping Springs 44 SA Clark 63- Hutto 54 Bowie 84 - Judson 75 SA Johnson 80 - Round Rock 66 Leander Glenn 93 - SA Sam Houston 58 Westlake 71 - SA Roosevelt 38 O’Connor 70 - Los Fresnos 49   Standout Performances [player_tooltip player_id="779878" first="Coleton" last="Benson"] | SG | Bowie (2021) Benson is playing possessed in the playoffs, following up his 24 point game in the Bi-District round with a monster 38 point performance in the second round against a tough Judson team. Benson scorched the Rockets from beyond-the-arc, nailing 8 threes in the game, including a stretch where he hit 5 in a row in the second half. Not only was scoring in bunches, but he came up clutch hitting two buzzer-beating shots at the end of two separate quarters.   [player_tooltip player_id="773413" first="KJ" last="Adams"] | PF | Westlake (2021) After a sluggish start from Westlake in the opening round against Cedar Ridge, Adams and the Chaparrals got back into rhythm with a huge win over San Antonio Roosevelt that saw Adams knock down 28 points. The Kansas commit is crucial to Westlake’s state championship run as he nearly impossible to stop around the basket.   [player_tooltip player_id="1027624" first="Adam" last="Benhayoune"] | PF | O’Connor (2021) A top ten player in San Antonio for the 2021 class, Benhayoune balled out in O’Connor’s Area round game dropping 23 points and 19 rebounds in the win over Los Fresnos. The 6’5" senior forward does a great job battling for rebounds and is physical in the paint, but he can also stretch the floor on offense and knock down threes. An underrated part of his game that shouldn't go unnoticed is his passing ability, where he can pass teammates open for easy shots.   Joseph Rincon | SG | Jefferson (2022) Rincon did a little bit of everything for Jefferson in their win over Dripping Springs, netting 22 points on shots from the mid-range and from deep. A 6’2" junior shooting guard with good length, Rincon routinely got into the paint and hit the turn-around jumpers, while also being active on fast break opportunities resulting in easy layups.   [player_tooltip player_id="1102682" first="Aaron" last="San Miguel"] | SG | Jefferson (2022) Like his teammate, San Miguel was making plays all over the court for Jefferson and showed off his great shooting ability. The junior guard knocked down 17 points while bringing down 6 rebounds, and he was particularly lethal in the mid-range with his turn-around jumper. He’s one of the top shooters in San Antonio, and he showed off some legit range on one of his catch-and-shoot threes made in the first half.   [player_tooltip player_id="1039561" first="Isaiah" last="Washington"] | PG | Judson (2021) Even in a tough loss to Bowie, Washington put on a good show in his last game as a senior, scoring 24 points and hitting 5 shots from beyond-the-arc. The senior guard really took a big step in his final season and was instrumental in Judson’s success this season thanks to his three-point shooting ability and playmaking in the half-court.   [player_tooltip player_id="1027623" first="Shane" last="Johnson"] | SG | Johnson (2021) Johnson led the Jaguars in scoring with 18 points versus Round Rock, and the senior guard is starting to find his groove at the right time. A dual-sport athlete, Johnson is physical at the point of attack and does a great job of finishing through contact around the basket. He also can be a lethal shooter from beyond-the-arc who can take over games when his shooting gets hot.   [player_tooltip player_id="958621" first="Kendall" last="Dow"] | PG | Johnson (2022) Dow's enjoyed a breakout junior season leading Johnson in scoring for the year, and he continued his impressive play with a 17 point game against Round Rock. The junior point guard can do it all on offense and is an efficient shooter from deep where he can catch fire quickly. He's also done a great job of running the offense and creating off the dribble.   Jesse Peart | PG | Boerne-Champion (2022) Peart put up a well-balanced stat sheet of 14 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals in Boerne-Champion’s easy win over Harlandale. The 6’4" point guard showed off some terrific passing in the contest, was aggressive on defense, and looked smooth shooting the rock from three-point range. Peart is quickly climbing up the rankings for the San Antonio 2022 class.   [player_tooltip player_id="1008529" first="Jordan" last="Mason"] | PG | Clark (2022) Mason led the way in Clark's victory over Hutto, doing a great job of controlling the offense and getting into the lane to create scoring opportunities. The junior point guard dropped a team-high 16 points in the game and played with great pace while showing off some impressive ball-handling skills. Mason is one to watch for the San Antonio 2022 class moving forward.   Other notable performances PG [player_tooltip player_id="1027631" first="Kaden" last="Smart"] (Hutto) PG [player_tooltip player_id="1051196" first="Anariss" last="Brandon"] (Judson) PG [player_tooltip player_id="1007237" first="Isaac" last="Orozco"] (O’Connor) SG Aidan Bailey (Dripping Springs) SG Will Harris (Clark) SG [player_tooltip player_id="1039048" first="Jailen" last="Bedford"] (Hutto) SG Jason Osonma (Clark) SG [player_tooltip player_id="1027630" first="Jaelyn" last="Brooks"] (Round Rock) SF Al Emerllahu (Clark) SF [player_tooltip player_id="887091" first="Cade" last="Holzman"] (Bowie) SF [player_tooltip player_id="1027619" first="LD" last="Butler"] (Bowie) SF Joseph Taylor (Johnson)