Malachi Hayes, Michael Gibbs power surging Sam Houston past state-ranked Arlington Martin

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Arlington Sam Houston Texans entered the 2022-23 season after back-to-back years of being held winless in district play.

Despite their recent history, however, the Texans caught fire at the start of this season and have been on a magical run ever since.

On Friday night, Sam Houston  continued its Cinderella season with a dominant defensive performance and hot 3-point shooting night to beat the state-ranked Arlington Martin Warriors 70-59 in pivotal district victory.

The win avenges a 77-73 loss to Martin in early January, helping the Texans move into a tie for first place in the District 8-6A standings and gain a major in the race for the district crown.

The victory marks Sam Houston's fifth straight win and 14th victory in the team's last 15 games stretching back to mid-December.

“I’m just happy for the boys,” Arlington Sam Houston head coach Darius Williams said.

“They competed till the end. They show up every day, they give me everything I ask for. I’m very demanding and they give me everything that they have. And it shows in games like this...”

Malachi Hayes, a 6-foot-6 junior guard, had a career game for Sam Houston, scoring 20 points in the winning effort. He scored seven during the fourth quarter to keep the Warriors at bay.

Hayes wasn't the only Texan who had a big game, though, with 6-foot-6 freshman forward Michael Gibbs gave support on the perimeter. Gibbs added 16 points, including four 3-pointers, while he locking down  the wing on the defensive end of the floor.

“Our team length helps us a lot,” Williams said. “Game in and game out on the defensive end, and we’re working on making sure we get our hands up so it makes it even more difficult for the guys to make shots over our defense...”

Senior guard Tarrance Warren also contributed in a large way, scoring 14 points with 10 coming during the second half.

The Texan defense was clicking from start to finish, challenging a Martin team that has averaged more than 70 points per game offensively entering Friday night's matchup. 

Houston Cougars commit Kordelius Jefferson scored a season-low 15 points in the game, which included a five point first-half performance.

“We tried to throw multiple looks at him,” Williams said. 

“Different guys whether it be smaller guys or taller guys, use length and try to take away different things and make him pass a little more. He’s a great passer, but the threat of him passing and the threat of him scoring, we wanted to eliminate one of the other. So we focused on stopping the scoring…”

Sam Houston never allowed the Warriors to grab the lead, jumping out to a 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, not letting Jefferson score during the first 8 minutes of the contest. 

With Martin’s star player quiet, the Texans were able to keep the Warriors at an arm’s length despite a fierce comeback.

Sam Houston led by nine at halftime, but a furious run by Martin to start the third quarter helped the Warriors quickly pull within one. 

However after a crucial timeout, Gibbs sparked a big run for the Texans by connecting on a 3-pointer from near half-court.

The Warriors tried to use a scrappy fourth-quarter performance to claw their way back into the contest during the waning moment's of the game, but were hampered by fouls down the stretch that helped the Texans secure a huge district win.

“We have one picture frame space in the office,” Williams said. 

“I graduated in ‘02 and there’s a lot of winning from back then…and that’s what I’m used to. So coming here and not winning, that was not going to be a thing that was acceptable. So I told the guys at the beginning of the year: ‘Let’s get that district championship so our picture can go up on that wall…’”

The Texans improve to 24-7 (8-1) and now stand atop the district standings with just two weeks remaining. They will look to build upon the win when they face Arlington Lamar on Saturday.

The Warriors, however, dropped their first district game to fall to 25-4 (8-1). They will look to bounce back on Tuesday when they host Grand Prairie.

Arlington Sam Houston (24-7, 8-1) sits tied with Martin atop the District 8-6A standings and holds a point-differential tie breaker over the Warriors with two weeks left in the regular season.

The Texans will return to action against the Arlington Lamar Vikings (4-21, 0-8) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, in Arlington.

Arlington Martin (25-4, 8-1) will look to rebound after having its eight-game winning streak snapped when the Warriors take on the Grand Prairie Gophers (8-20, 3-6) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, in Arlington.

Check out SBLive's exclusive photo gallery from the game:

PHOTO GALLERY — ARLINGTON SAM HOUSTON 70, ARLINGTON MARTIN 59

All photos by Brian McLean