Surrounded by smiling teammates, senior Trevion Howell held up the area championship trophy after defeating Allen High School.

“I was happy for my team and the coaches, and I was proud that we made our fans and parents proud,” Howell said.

The team finished the season 33-2, making the playoffs before losing to McKinney in the regional quarterfinal game. The loss broke a 21-game winning streak for the number one team in the nation and ended hopes of making it to the state tournament.

Five-star point guard Cason Wallace and four-star shooting guard Rylan Griffen achieved widespread attention in the high school basketball world this season. The duo earned several accolades in and outside of the district.

All-American in the history of the district. Griffen, who was named District 7-6A Offensive Player of the Year, played on the teams with District 7-6A MVP Wallace starting in junior high school. Wallace and Griffen finished the season with more than 1500 and 2000 points respectively.

“We battled it out in practice, we benefit each other in the game, and we got a lot of wins on the court,” Griffen said.

The back court pair felt that the loss to McKinney High School was difficult.

“We had a good season, we fought hard all year, so I feel like we just didn’t have enough juice later on in the season,” Wallace said. “I thought it was a tough loss, but tough times don’t last forever.”

Students, staff, alumni and other fans cheered on the team at their games. The team said the support from the community helped their performance.

“It helped us win some games, especially late, you know we got the fan base, and for me, I just feel like I got a fan base and a city behind my back forever,” Griffen said.

After basketball games, Griffen and Wallace interacted with their fans, posing for pictures and signing T-shirts. Wallace said that the team wants to set an example for the people who look up to them.

“Of course we come in and go to work on the court, but it’s bigger than that,” Wallace said. “There’s people that look up to us, and we just want to set the right example – you want to make a lot of people proud, you want to make your school proud.”