Trivia question for all high school basketball connoisseurs: Which area program features a starting five that has won a regional championship, a prestigious holiday tournament and a major AAU tournament within an eight-month span?

Guess Lancaster, and you're correct. The senior quintet of John Bohannon, Tre Lynch, J.J. Williams, Michale Kyser and Sheldon Earl can boast that it started Saturday's Class 4A Region II championship in Garland, as well as the Dallas ISD Coca-Cola Tournament over the Christmas break.

The five played AAU ball with Dallas Showtyme and won the 300-plus-team Denton Great American Shoot-Out back in July.

Those five now will try to add a state title to their championship résumé. After defeating Pinkston on Saturday, Lancaster earned the No. 2 seed in this weekend's UIL state tournament and will face Region IV champ Lake Travis on Thursday.

"We've got two more to go before we reach our goal," Bohannon said.

Along with Lancaster, The Colony will compete in the 4A tournament. The Colony, returning to Austin for the first time in nine years, will play Yates in Thursday's nightcap. Yates not only is the defending 4A champion but also the nation's top-ranked team in several high school polls.

Madison and Ponder, meanwhile, are entering the tournament as the hunted. Madison, the defending 3A champion, will play Silsbee on Thursday. Ponder, the two-time defending 2A champ, will get Hallettsville in a Friday-morning semifinal.

Making their first trips to state are the area's Class 5A representatives. Region I champion Flower Mound Marcus will play Region III winner Fort Bend Bush, and Region II champ Garland Lakeview will play three-time Region IV champ San Antonio Wagner on Friday.