Pearland Dawson senior wing Tyree Davis.
KATY—The Greater Houston basketball scene is starting to learn who Tyree Davis is. Monday evening was another step to his introduction.
A January move-in from Washington D.C., the Pearland Dawson senior wing scored 30 points with seven rebounds and three assists to lead the Eagles to an impressive 62-52 win over Seven Lakes in a clash of state-ranked teams.
“We started off a little slow and I wanted to go get that victory,” Davis said. “If we kept playing the way we kept playing, I knew we’d probably lose the game. So, I kept encouraging all my teammates to do well, get it going and get the ‘W.’”
No. 15 state-ranked Seven Lakes (16-2), off to its best start in program history, led by two at halftime after senior point guard Grant Van Hoozer found senior Steve Bluiett for a wide-open buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
But the 6-foot-7, 190-pound Davis took over after that.
Davis engineered a furious third-quarter turnaround for the Eagles, scoring 11 points in the period as Dawson outscored Seven Lakes, 18-11. The Eagles forced four turnovers in the quarter.
“I make it a real simple game sometimes with our guys,” Dawson coach Mark Barre said. “Let’s get a stop and then let’s try and score on offense. It’s a simple game. I thought we started getting some stops, got some defensive rebounds and got some runouts. We got some easy baskets that we weren’t getting in the first half.”
Davis’s two offensive rebounds and putback lay-in at the third quarter buzzer gave Dawson a 43-38 lead heading into the fourth.
Tyree Davis puts the finishing touch on a great 3Q for Dawson. He had 11 points and three rebounds in the period. Dawson up 43-38 into the 4Q. #txhshoopspic.twitter.com/eQ8CIxJKfN— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1639447147
Davis scored 11 more points in the final period, going tit-for-tat with Seven Lakes sophomore guard A.J. Bates Jr. who scored eight of his team-high 16 points in the quarter.
“The one thing he can do, flat-out, is score,” Barre said of Davis. “He can go get a bucket. Sometimes coaches try and control everything, and sometimes you just need a dude who can go get a bucket. That’s what Tyree can do for us.”
Davis is averaging 15 points and five rebounds in his first full season as an Eagle. He is also fully healthy after suffering a lower body injury that hindered him last year.
“I’m fully recovered now and ready to go,” he said.
Davis said he worked hard on shooting and playing off the ball during the offseason and summer. It showed against Seven Lakes.
He made four of eight 3-pointers and showed an ability to score at all three levels.
“I feel like my movement makes me really hard to defend,” he said.
.@dawsonhoops 6-7, 190 senior wing Tyree Davis talks about Dawson\u2019s 62-52 win over Seven Lakes tonight. Davis, a January move-in from Washington, had 30 points, six rebounds and three assists. #txhshoopspic.twitter.com/Qt5tv4qUle— VYPE Houston (@VYPE Houston) 1639449121
Barre said it remains a process integrating Davis into the Eagles’ ways. Davis, because of his scoring talents, tends to freelance more than Dawson, which typically is structured and rigid in its offensive system, is used to.
But Barre also understands Davis gives the Eagles a dynamic that is essential.
“There are times when stuff breaks down and you need to score, and he can go get that,” Barre said.
No. 20 state-ranked Dawson is 11-5 against a loaded schedule. Nine of its opponents have been state-ranked. Because of the play of Davis, 6-6 senior forward Hayden Windsor (13 points, eight rebounds) and junior guard Jaden Miller, there is a feeling this could be a special season for the Eagles.
“Our level is through the roof,” Davis said. “I feel we can be the No. 1 team in the state.”
