IT’S TONIGHT! | Tatum, Iowa Park meet in Mansfield, trip to Alamodome on the line

Rod Stewart said it (“Tonight’s the Night”).

Phil Collins and Genesis said it, too – three times in one song title (“Tonight, Tonight, Tonight”).

Jennifer Lopez was waiting for it (“Waiting for Tonight”).

And the waiting is just about over.

Tatum High School boys basketball takes the court tonight, a 7 p.m. tip-off, in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 3A, Division I playoffs, way deep into the playoffs. It’s the state semifinal.

Tatum (30-2) will meet Iowa Park (27-8) at Mansfield Lake Ridge, and the winner will advance to the UIL 3A-DI State Championship, to be played, like the other state title games, this week at The Alamodome in San Antonio.

Specifically, the Tatum-Iowa Park winner will meet either Onalaska (33-6) or Columbus (16-2) in the 3A-DI state title game this Friday at 1 p.m. at The Alamodome. Onalaska and Columbus play each other tonight at Delmar Field House in Houston.

Nobody is thinking about anything other than… tonight.

At least, that’s the way it should be; one game at a time.

For those going, here’s a link to tickets: Mansfield ISD – Ticket Spicket. They’re $6 each.

And the address to Mansfield Lake Ridge High School is 101 Day Miar Drive, Mansfield, TX, 76063.

For those who can’t go, but would like to watch, there’s the NFHS Network streaming broadcast here (2025 UIL Boys Basketball Semifinal Tatum High School vs. Iowa Park High School – 03/04/2025 | Live & On Demand), for a subscription ($12.99 monthly) that can be canceled at any time. But full disclosure: NFHS does seem to frequently have technical issues. Hopefully, the broadcast will have none.

KGAS 104.3-FM will air the game. Here’s a link to that broadcast: Tatum vs Iowa Park Round 5 | News | easttexastoday.com.

Iowa Park is located in Wichita County, in the Wichita Falls area. In the last U.S. Census, Iowa Park had about 6,500 people. The Hawks and their fans will drive about 150 miles tonight, one way, to Mansfield Lake Ridge for the game.

Along their playoff run, the Hawks have beaten Comanche (8-18), 56-31; Sweetwater (16-13), 55-53; Bushland (16-12), 55-48; and most recently, Presidio (26-9), 48-41.

Tatum’s playoff journey has been one – well, that’s been unpleasant for its opponents.

The Eagles began the playoffs with a 77-48 win over Mineola at Longview’s Lobo Coliseum. In round two – the second round – the Eagles met up with unbeaten Liberty-Eylau in Pittsburg, and knocked them off, 69-53 (SPLIT DECISION | Lady Eagles slip, but Eagles get a win for the ages over L-E; face Ponder Tuesday at Caddo Mills).

Round three brought a trip to Caddo Mills to face Ponder, who went down, 73-53, a little revenge for 2013-14 (TATUM WINS! | Sinks Ponder, 73-53, to advance to regional finals vs. Jefferson).

And then on Friday, Tatum faced off against Jefferson at the University of Texas at Tyler’s Patriot Center. Jefferson had some confidence behind them: the Bulldogs had beaten Tatum in double overtime in Jefferson back in December.

But Tatum jumped out to a big lead, and all over the Bulldogs, leading 24-2 at one point. The final: 70-42 (EAGLES CRUSH JEFFERSON | Tatum advances to state semis Tuesday in Mansfield vs. Iowa Park; photo gallery here: TATUM EAGLES GALLERY! | The win over Jefferson in photos / By ALEX NABOR).

The Eagles have had great success under coach Carr. Just this year, Tatum had an unbeaten record at home and a District 16-3A championship (unbeaten in district).

It’s Tatum’s first appearance in the state tournament since losing in the state championship game to San Antonio Cole, 77-60, back in 2021.

The Eagles lost in the title game to Ponder, 66-56, back in spring, 2014; lost to Idalou in the 2010-11 state championship game in spring ’11, 55-54; and lost to Everman, 72-44, back in spring, 2023.

This Tatum team feels, and looks, like Carr’s basketball masterpiece, a mish-mash of speed, power, and aggressiveness that seems to all be clicking at the right time.

This year’s roster: Cayden Tatum (0), Luke Sigler (1), Grayson Lee (2), Kenneton Harrison (3), Nalayus Boyd (4), Quincy Davis (5), Carlos Hernandez (10), Namhun Kim (11), JaCorie Bradley (12), Nick D’Souza (13), Jordan Chambers (15), Koby Bridges (20), DeMarion Tolbert (24), Cooper Whiteus (30), and Brandon Howard (35).

Tatum, Sigler, Harrison, Kim, Bradley, D’Souza and Chambers are all seniors.

At the end of the game, come back to ETBlitz.com, and we’ll have the wrap-up.

Oh, and by the way, go get ‘em, Eagles.