AUSTIN -- It was a celebration of a first-time champion winning a nailbiter -- the rushing of the court, the dogpile.

But, in fact, it was less of a close call and more of a coronation -- the crowning of the best Class 2A team in the state for the last three years.

Ponder cruised to its third straight state title with a 66-40 win over Idalou in the 2A state final on Saturday at the Erwin Center, making the Lions the first team to win three straight titles since Class A Snook won a state-record seven straight from 1978 to 1984.

"It's just absolutely amazing," senior center Scott Gregg said. "It's overwhelming, to be really blessed to be with a great group of guys for three years straight and win three state championships."

For six games in Austin during its three-year reign, Ponder (37-4) has never failed to win by double digits. Its performance against Idalou (30-7) capped its most impressive visit to the state tournament, as the Lions outscored both opponents by a combined 42 points.

Ponder never trailed in the championship game -- or the tournament, for that matter -- hitting its first four 3-pointers to jump to an early 14-7 lead.

"These guys have done a lot of hard work to get to this point," Ponder head coach Jude Stanley said. "We were able to really move the basketball, got some easy shots, and knocked down a lot of those shots."

Tournament MVP Kaleb Broadstreet hit two of those threes, scoring nine points in the opening quarter. He finished with 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 4-for-5 from three.

"I loved it," Broadstreet said about the Erwin Center. "Felt good shooting here."

A 3-pointer by Riley Payne with 42 seconds remaining in the first quarter capped a 7-2 Idalou run, pulling the Wildcats within six, 20-14, at the end of the period.

But that was as close as Ponder would allow. Ponder went on a 32-5 run over the next 15 minutes.

"Those guys are so sound," Idalou head coach Tyler Helms said. "You make a little mistake, and they bury shots, they drop it off for layups."

Idalou scored five points in the second quarter and, trailing by 18 at the half, went scoreless for the first 7:18 of the third quarter as Ponder's lead ballooned to 33.

Idalou upset No. 1-ranked New Waverly in the semifinals, propelled in part by shooting 61.8 percent from the field. Against Ponder, Idalou shot 27.9 percent.

"Defensively, we were able to shut down quarters," Stanley said. "That was the difference in the ballgame."

Stanley, in his first year as head coach at Ponder, won his first state title. He was an assistant at Ponder under Doug Boxell during its 2001 title run; Boxell left after last season to take the head coaching position at the University of the Ozarks.

Graduating four seniors from last year's championship team, Stanley said that few believed that Ponder could repeat with a revamped roster and new coach.

But with a new lineup of four seniors -- Broadstreet, Alex Huerta, David Robertson and lone returning starter Gregg -- Ponder seemed more than up for the task.

Robertson had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Gregg finished with nine points and five rebounds.

"It's an extremely special moment for me as a coach," Stanley said. "What makes this thing even more special on my end is to do this with great kids. These are the kind of guys that I want to do this with."

The game set an all-time attendance record for a Class 2A championship game with a crowd of 16,060 -- with the game preceding the much-anticipated Class 4A final between Houston Yates and Lancaster.

Ponder 66, Idalou 40 

Ponder           20        17        15        14        --          66

Idalou 14        5          3          18        --          40

Ponder (37-4) -- Alex Huerta 2, Kaleb Broadstreet 18, Scott Gregg 9, Jorden Young 6, David Robertson 16, Robert Davenport 2, Tanner Yeager 3, Jarryd Shirley 3, Dalton Brown 4, John Burke 2, Wade Ford 1.

Idalou (30-7) -- Riley Payne 9, C.J. Parkhill 9, Alec Estes 7, Jacob Johnson 5, Bradley Adkins 2, Tyler Dowdy 4, Garrett Thornton 2, Luke Buckner 2.