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Ellis scored 18 points and his Bryan Vikings captured the championship of the McDonald's All-Star Invi-tational with a 75-63 victory over the A&M Consolidated Tigers.
The impromptu Crosstown Showdown took place because both teams won their pool play games and took semifinal victories Friday night in their host tournament. The Tigers (15-5) and Vikings (14-4) are scheduled to play twice in District 13-5A play at Reed Arena. This one was at Viking Gym, a site set for the gold-bracket final prior to the tournament.
A first-half Vikings surge, built on a trapping defense and led by senior guard Allyn Cooks, established an 18-point Vikings' lead. Consol made it a battle from there, however, cutting the lead to seven points in the fourth quarter thanks to consecutive buckets from Kevin Jefferson.
Bryan's Dacorian Burleson followed with a personal five-point run, upping Bryan's lead to 71-59 on a bucket from the left baseline.
Cooks, Bryan's point guard, was named Most Valuable Player of the Invitational, finishing with 14 points in the championship game. Cooks had a long straightaway 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer that gave the Vikings a 17-7 lead.
"They are always going to give us a run, because it's a rivalry," said Cooks, who was slowed by a stomach virus. "Every time we get the ball with under 20 seconds, they are going to put the ball in my hands and tell me to make a play."
Consol's Timmy Hamilton threw his hat in the ring as a contender for the MVP award by throwing down 3-pointers. The 5-foot-8 senior guard hit five 3-point shots and highlighted the Tigers' offense whenever Consol needed a bucket to remain close. He led all scorers with 27 points.
"Timmy does that every time we play Bryan," Consol coach Rusty Segler said of his senior guard, who sprained an ankle in the tournament opener Thursday. "I'm proud of Timmy because he had his first injury and fought through it. It was a pretty good sprain, and it was his first hurt like that."
Hamilton hit his first shot from behind the arc with 1:43 left in the first quarter, then had a steal, allowing Jay Flowers to get a thunderous dunk to narrow the lead to 10-7.
That seemed to shock the Vikings to life.
"Any time somebody comes in our house trying to show out, that what coach tells us to do," Cooks said. "Turn it on and let's ball."
Cooks ran off seven straight points to end the period, and Bryan opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run. Cooks had two of those shots but missed a dunk. Chris Ellis volleyballed the shot back in while the basket was still shaking.
On the brink of being run off the court at Viking Gym, Consol used seven free throws and a closing burst by Hamilton to narrow Bryan's halftime lead to 36-23. He buried a 3 from the corner and scored on a drive for the final bucket of the half.
"We are never going to lay down," said Segler of his Tigers' rally. "We did not get aggressive with them, and we allowed them to do what they do with their x's and o's. When you do that, you are not going to beat Bryan."
Said Bryan coach John Reese: "[The Tigers] are good, and they are a different team from what we faced last year. As soon as you score, they are right back at you shooting, and they do a really good job of it, and they do an excellent job on the glass, which allows them to get into that transition phase."
Despite their first-half misfires, Ellis finished with a trio of 3s for Bryan. Royston Lister hit two and scored 12 points.
Flowers and 6-foot-5 teammate Ray Holliday each had 12 points. From the early going, when Terrance Bowser rejected a shot by the Vikings' Burleson, it was obvious that inside shots would be challenged and it took some creative shot-making by each team to score near the glass.
• David Campbell's e-mail address is david.campbell@ theeagle.com.
Bryan 75, Consol 63
(Numbers after names are: field goals, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, points)
CONSOL (15-5) -- Searcy 0 1-2 1 1; Hamilton 9 4-4 3 27; Jose Garcia 1 0-0 0 2; Flowers 5 0-0 2 12; Bowser 0 4-4 4 4; Holliday 4 4-6 4 12; Jefferson 2 1-3 1 5. TOTALS: 21 14-19 15 63.
3-pointers -- Hamilton (5), Flowers (2).
BRYAN (14-4) -- Allyn Cooks 4 5-7 1 14; Jaron Gentry 1 0-0 1 2; Chris Ellis 7 1-1 1 18; Marcus Jones 0 0-0 1 0; Royston Lister 5 0-0 3 12; Stan McGruder 4 1-2 1 9; Paul McGee 0 0-0 4 0; Decorian Burleson 5 1-2 1 11; Cameron White 1 1-2 1 3; Rayland Robinson 3 0-1 5 6. TOTALS: 30 9-15 19 75.
3-pointers -- Cooks, Ellis (3), Lister (2)
Consol 7 16 17 23 -- 63
Bryan 17 19 16 23 -- 75
