Marble Falls boys basketball loses district opener

CAPTION: Marble Falls junior guard Tidus Willie continues to his all-around play. He contributed 17 points during the setback to Lampasas. Photo by Christopher A. Miles/Christopher A. Miles Photography

The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team lost to Lampasas 67-61 Jan. 12 in its District 24-4A opener.

Head coach Travis Crain noted the environment had a different feeling than a non-district contest.

“The crowd was great, the intensity was up,” he said. “It looked like a playoff game.”

Marble Falls began the contest “hot,” by earning a 6-2 lead in the opening stanza before the Badgers (20-4, 1-0) got hot, too, to take a 16-11 lead by the end.

Lampasas took a 7-point lead into the intermission, though the Mustangs felt like the contest should have been closer. They had several shots that rimmed around or in and out of the cylinder that allowed the Badgers to keep the advantage.

And though Marble Falls was right there with under 4 minutes left to play, the Mustangs began to foul to save time.

“(The Badgers) made their free throws,” Crain said. “Lampasas seemed to get a bucket when they needed it. We’d get the basket, and they’d hit one.”

As he reflected on the contest, Crain noted the Mustangs played their game other than the ball not going through the cylinder enough.

“Our execution was solid,” he said. “I was proud of our kids. We were getting the shots; they were just rolling in and out. We might have missed 4 or 5 lay-ups that rattled in and out. If those fall, it’s a completely different ball game. Lampasas found the goal and got in rhythm. Ours was more in spurts. “

Marble Falls junior guard Tidus Willie dropped in 17 points followed by junior guard Garen Jones with 16, and senior center Cooper Cochran and senior guard Kody Smith with 9 apiece.

“It was two good teams going at it,” the coach said. “When you’re on the road, you have to match intensity and be the aggressive team and play through things. You have to go out and earn it. I thought our kids played well.”

Crain noted that junior point guard Roman Brown and junior forward Noah Lyon gave crucial minutes. Lyon hit a shot at the end of the third quarter to ensure a two-point Marble Falls deficit.

“They played well,” he said. “It was really a well played game.”

In other district games, Burnet beat Georgetown Gateway 45-42 and Jarrell defeated Lago Vista 52-48, all by a combined 7 points.

“This is what it’s going to be like,” Crain said. “You have to be mentally tough. What I love about Lampasas, what I love about Burnet, what I love about Jarrell, and what I love about Lago Vista is you have to be mentally tough to withstand (the ebbs and flows of a game). The execution is going to have to be there to close out opponents. And you have to get hot at the right time and play your best basketball when you need to. I thought we played well last night. We have that on us. You have to be mentally tough to go into some difficult places to play. I know we’re going to be right there with everybody else.”

Marble Falls hosts Jarrell Tuesday, Jan. 19, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m., the freshmen at 6:30 p.m. and the varsity at 8 p.m.

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