Year 3 for Darrell Tully’s East Texas State squad was roughly what one would have expected. He had a winning record, contention for conference championships, and in the hunt for the NAIA postseason. It would be his final season before heading south to the Houston area where he would become one of the most notable football coaches and athletic directors.

The 48-49 season would start off at an uninspiring 2-3 record, only to be followed by an 8-2 run over the next two games, giving the LIons a 10-5 record roughly halfway through the season with a 6-2 conference record. However, the Lions whimpered to a 3-3 record to finish the regular season. There was some serious concern if the 13-7 record was good enough to get them into the NAIA postseason, especially since they had not won their conference, finishing in 2nd place. The NAIA selected 4 teams for the District tournament. Texas Tech, Abilene Christian, East Texas Baptist, and East Texas State. For the 3rd straight year, the Lions were in the NAIA dance.

Before the days of Gerald Myers, Bob Knight, Chris Beard, and Grant McCasland, Texas Tech was good. VERY GOOD. Coached by Polk Robinson, the Matadors (which is what they were called at the time). ET Baptist and Abilene Christian were not slouches either.

The Lions drew the Tigers of East Texas Baptist College in the first round of the NAIA playoffs. The Lions met the Tigers in Gladewater at Gladewater High School and edged out a 55-47 win, setting them up with a showdown against Texas Tech, who had disposed of Abilene Christian 71-51.

Meeting up with Texas Tech in Dallas, the Lions experienced another tough loss in the NAIA postseason as they found out what “Raider Power” was all about as the Red Raiders blew out the Lions 63-45, ending the season for the Lions in the NAIA District Playoffs for the second time in 3 seasons. On Tech’s bench and the floor was a 21 year old kid from Lamesa, Texas who would become an assistant football coach for the Lions in 8 years, and the head coach and the best in Lion history in 14 years. The young man’s name was Ernest Hawkins, a guard/forward for the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech would go on to play well in the 1949 NAIA tournament, finishing in the Elite 8, losing to eventual national champion Hamline. It was the second straight appearance in the NAIA postseason for the Lions.

1948-49 East Texas State Lions Basketball

NAIA District Playoffs