AUSTIN -- One more win. That's all that Ponder -- the back-to-back Class 2A state champions -- needs to put itself in very select company.

With a 72-56 win over Hallettsville, Ponder has positioned itself to become the fourth team in UIL state history to win three consecutive titles.

Ponder (36-4) meets Idalou (30-6) -- which beat No. 1-ranked New Waverly, 63-53 -- in today's 2 p.m. final.

"This really means a lot," senior guard Alex Huerta said. "This is our last year ... and we've been working this entire year hard at practice, and now, it pays off -- we're going to the state championship game."

Ponder would be the first team in more than 25 years to win three titles in a row since Snook, which won a state-record seven straight titles from 1978 to 1984.

Dallas South Oak Cliff, which won four titles from 2005 to 2008, is not recognized in UIL record books, having forfeited its 2005 and 2006 titles because of the use of an ineligible player.

Ponder never trailed -- relying on its core group of seniors, including four starters -- to fend off Hallettsville when it closed the deficit to seven, 54-47, with 5:13 remaining. The four senior starters -- Huerta, Scott Gregg, Kaleb Broadstreet and David Robertson -- scored 17 of the game's last 28 points.

They all finished in double digits, combining for 59 of Ponder's 72 points.

"When you put four seniors out there on the floor, it makes you a little more comfortable as a coach because those guys have been in the wars and understand what it's going to take to win," Ponder coach Jude Stanley said.

Gregg, a 6-foot-5 center, scored a team-high 19 points, going 9-of-10 from the floor. He added 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and six blocks -- five of them in the opening quarter.

Opposing post Chris Wood-Dvorak had 25 points and 12 rebounds for Hallettsville.

"Scott is a difference maker for us on the defensive and offensive end," Stanley said. "But particularly on the defensive end, that's where Scott's game has picked up this year. Very seldom do you have a guy that can get it done on both ends of the floor, but that's what Scott Gregg does."

Hallettsville (36-2), in its first state championship appearance, looked a little unsteady under the bright lights of the Erwin Center, especially in the first quarter. Hallettsville took 2 1/2 minutes to score its first points, and -- flustered by Gregg and the rest of the Ponder defense -- the team trailed by nine, 19-10, at the end of the quarter. The 56 points tied the team's lowest output of the season; Hallettsville had scored over 100 points 10 times.

"I really think if we had the first quarter to do again, we'd be in good shape," Hallettsville coach Rich Dozier said, blaming excitement for his team's struggles. "The shots would fall, and things would be different."

For Stanley, there was a measure of relief to get back Ponder to the state finals. An assistant during Ponder's first title run in 2001, Stanley left Sanger this season to replace long-time coach Doug Boxell.

Boxell -- winner of five state titles, three of them in 13 seasons at Ponder -- left after the 2008-09 season to take a college position at the University of the Ozarks.

"I had coaches that I talked to after I accepted the job that said 'Coach, that's a tough move; I wouldn't want to be in your shoes,'" Stanley said. "But I kind of looked at it the other way -- what a great opportunity. What a great chance to work with quality young men and be at a quality program like Ponder."

Ponder 72, Hallettsville 56 

Ponder 19        6          22        25        --         72

Hallettsville       10        8          16        22        --         56

Ponder (36-4) -- Alex Huerta 15, Kaleb Broadstreet 15, Scott Gregg 19, Jorden Young 9, David Robertson 10, Robert Davenport 2, Dalton Brown 2.

Hallettsville (36-2) -- Clayton O'Neill 9, Chris Wood-Dvorak 25, Camp Dozier 2, Dante Haynes 16, Reid Brunner 3, Darnell Brown 1.