China Spring’s late basket ends Marble Falls boys basketball season

The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team lost to China Spring 56-55 Feb. 21 in a bi-district championship that ended the Mustangs’ season.

Marble Falls (14-19, 6-4) is the co-District 24-4A champion.

The end of the contest against the Cougars (21-14, 5-5 District 23-4A fourth place) is what has stayed with onlookers.

The Mustangs trailed by six points with about a minute left in regulation. They cut it to a 44-41 deficit and then junior guard Jamie Castillo hit a 3-pointer to send the contest into overtime.

Much like regulation, the extra session went back and forth. Then with 10 seconds remaining, Marble Falls led 54-50. The Cougars hit a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 54-53 with about seven seconds left.

Since the China Spring coach stepped onto the playing court, officials stopped the game — and the game clock — thinking a timeout was being called. But the Cougars were out of timeouts. So officials told the Mustangs to inbound the ball with more time remaining than should have been had the game not been stopped.

China Spring immediately fouled with seven seconds left, and the Mustangs hit the first free shot for a 55-53 advantage. But the second free throw was missed. The Cougars inbounded ball and hit the game winner at the horn.

“We gave ourselves a chance,” Marble Falls head coach Travis Crain said. “Our kids executed a game plan almost to the letter. Hats off to China Spring for making a difficult shot.”

No District 24-4A member advanced past the first round of the playoffs, all losing to District 23-4A.

“We were facing some tough bi-district match-ups,” Crain said. “We were all competitive. It came down to a couple of possessions.”

Going into the season, the Mustangs were on a 36-game losing streak. They ended that with the win against Lockhart in the season opener 55-47 Nov. 12.

Then they had other milestones in district play: defeating Jarrell on a last-second half-court shot, beating Burnet inside The Doghouse and then later inside Max Copeland Gym to become the first squad to win six games and secure at least a share of the district title.

“In a weird way, it made last year worth it,” Crain said about going winless in 2021-22. “They wanted the challenge, they wanted to improve. That’s what I hope they’re remembered for. People notice the kids. They recognize how hard they played. I’m really proud of our kids. Coaches we’ve competed against in other districts have reached out and offered their support for the things our guys accomplished. It’s a direct reflection of our buy-in.”

The turning point was the win at Burnet. The Bulldogs led 48-46 with 55 seconds left in regulation, but the Mustangs won when sophomore guard and captain Tidus Willie scored on a 3-point play with under a minute left. Marble Falls forced Burnet to go the length of the floor and missed both shot attempts before the horn sounded. The Mustangs had to overcome Burnet’s 17-0 start in the first quarter and a 24-12 deficit at the half.

The victory against Jarrell three nights later doesn’t happen without the road win at Burnet.

Crain said he hopes fans will remember how the Mustangs overcame some adversity to give themselves a chance at the district crown.

“What we stood for and how we’re remembered are two different things,” he said. “We had a group of hard-working, intense kids who bought into the work and bought into each other. They had a team ego in terms of doing what was best for the team. They had to learn to play and learn how to play together.”

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