The boys basketball dreams of Beren Academy died and came back to life.

Court papers filed in U.S. District Court on Thursday morning prompted the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools to allow Beren to participate in the Class 2A state semifinals.

Though Beren officials had opposed legal action, three players and three parents filed suit against the Mansfield Independent School District – host of the state playoffs — and TAPPS in the Northern District of Texas Dallas Division court alleging a violation of religious freedoms.

Though TAPPS executive director Edd Burleson characterized the legal action as a temporary restraining order, it was in fact a court filing that had not received judicial review.

“Unlike many people TAPPS does follow the law, and we will comply,” Burleson said. “We’re trying to make those arrangements at this time. As soon as those arrangements can be made, we’ll post those on our web site.”

The TAPPS Executive Board had voted 8-0 – with one member not attending – on Wednesday to deny an appeal to reschedule the games. Beren is an Orthodox Day school and cannot play games during the originally scheduled Friday and Saturday window because of the Jewish Sabbath.

Beren had been scheduled to play Dallas Covenant at 9 p.m. Friday at Mansfield High School. The other semifinal matchup between Logos Prep of Sugar Land and Abilene Christian had been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Mansfield High.

“First of all, I’ve got to call the three schools who are involved – the semifinal opponent and the other two opponents – and find out when they want to play,” Burleson said. “Those folks need to have some word as long as they comply and they don’t request a time during the Sabbath. We’re going to allow them to have some input as to when and where and what time.”

Beren Academy, which has about 270 students at all levels and 71 in high school, joined the TAPPS in 2009-10. The team went 23-5 before arriving at the playoff scheduling predicament, prompting the school to reset the Friday game to finish before the Sabbath observance at 6 p.m. The 2A title game had been set for 2 p.m. Saturday, which also falls under the Sabbath.

Rabbi Harry Sinoff – the head of Beren Academy – had opposed taking legal action, cautioning it would be “inflammatory … and would not be a productive way to handle this.”

The school released a statement Thursday that said, in part, “We are thankful to the TAPPS for ultimately making the right decision. The school administration and board was not involved in any legal action and we regret that it took a lawsuit filed parents to bring about this decision. … We are very proud of our basketball team, the Beren Stars. Not only have the boys demonstrated considerable skill on the court this season, they have handled the stress of the past week with extraordinary maturity and composure.”

The matter had drawn the attention of an array of public figures and politicians ranging from mayor Annise Parker to former Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy to U.S. Senator John Cornyn. State Senators Rodney Ellis and Dan Patrick had begun a bi-partisan effort on Thursday to pressure TAPPS into making accommodations.

Ellis and Patrick had placed phone calls to TAPPS officials and crafted a letter expressing frustration at the handling of the matter and urging reconsideration. The letter characterized the matter as ” a controversy that never should have taken place,” noting that the other schools involved had expressed a willingness to re-schedule that that Beren had agreed to pay the costs of securing an alternate venue.

“I would be more than happy to host a lunch at the Capitol inviting all the parties involved,” Ellis said. “And I’ll make sure it’s not conflicting with anybody’s Sabbath. I hope they will consider changing the bylaws.”

READ MORE: CHRON