FRISCO - Bishop Lynch stunned the defending TAPPS 6A state champs John Paul II last night with a 58-54 victory. Behind Imo Essien's 25 points, Bishop Lynch's men's basketball team will be headed to the state championship for the first time since 2017.

Going into the game, the coaches and players had quiet confidence. This would be the fourth time the Friars and Cardinals met this year, and they knew exactly what to do to beat them. Coach May had an absolutely great gameplan and had great midgame changes throughout.

Logan Epes started the scoring to give the Friars a 2-0 lead, and then JPII went on a quick 8-0 scoring run to make it 8-2. The Friars couldn't get on the scoreboard for a couple of minutes, and JPII looked dominant. That would all change when Brice Davis had a fast break slam dunk while also getting fouled. The energy in the arena went through the roof. Davis had another fast break, but this time he would get fouled and stay on the ground. Davis would end up hurting his left knee and be unable to return. This was a big hit for the Friars, as Davis is BL's leading scorer and had five early points.

This would not put down Davis' teammates, and in fact, it would motivate them to play at a higher level. Sean Calloway would come into the game for Davis and get three quick points, and Epes would have four more to close, with BL winning 16-13.

Coach May would now have to change his gameplan and play more small ball now that Davis was out. Jack Slaughter would also have to step up down low. Essien would start the second quarter with five straight points, including a three to give the Friars a 21-16 lead. JPII would fight back and take the lead 23-21, but like all night, they wouldn't be able to hold onto it for long. Epes immediately came down and hit a three to give the Friars the lead again. Throughout the entire game, role players made huge momentum-shifting plays. Will McVicker drew a charge right after Epes' three, which then was followed by an Essien floater. Essien would get another bucket before the half ended, and the Friars would have a 30-28 halftime lead.

When the men returned to the court from the locker room to start the second half, they were treated with a standing ovation from the Friar Nation. Coach May would start the second half with a great play call for Slaughter to hit a jumper from the top of the key. This would force JPII's zone defense to crash down low and open things up for the BL guards, which would be a big factor in the fourth quarter. JPII would tie it up, but with an Essien floater and Epes three, the Friars were back up by five. After a few possession back and forth, Epes would hit another three to give the Friars a 42-40 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Essien would continue his amazing game by scoring the Friars' first five points in the fourth, giving BL a 47-40 lead. After a couple of JPII buckets, the Cardinals had the ball down three with 4:30 minutes to go when Epes would draw a charge. Immediately after, Essien would score his seventh point of the fourth with a baseline jumper. The Friars would control the possession and force JPII to start fouling. Slaughter would step up and hit two free-throws with 1:49 minutes left to give BL a 51-44 lead.

JPII would not go away easily and hit a three-pointer. Essien would go down and hit two more FT's to give BL a 53-47 lead. Grayson Bell, who had to step in and play against bigger opponents because of Davis' injury, would draw yet another charge on JPII. The Cardinals would hit a few shots and force a turnover, but in the end, the Friars hit 7-8 FT's down the stretch to best the defending champs 58-54.

The Friars will head down to College Station to face off against Antonian College Prep for the TAPPS 6A State Championship on Friday.