Marble Falls boys basketball loses to Lampasas in overtime
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior Garen Jones and the Mustangs need an extra session to decide the winner of the rematch against Lampasas in a crucial District 24-4A matchup. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team lost to Lampasas 50-46 in overtime Jan. 30 in District 24-4A play.
Following the outcome, Marble Falls head coach Travis Crain said needing an extra session to decide the outcome illustrates what he has been saying about this district.
“It’ll be like that most of the way,” he said. “I thought our guys played really well.”
Down 4-2 in the first period, junior forward Garen Jones drove to the basket and connected on teardrop jumper to tie the game. Junior guard Tidus Willie then added a midrange jumper and a 3-pointer from the right side for 9-4 advantage headed into the second quarter.
Senior guard Davis Dreisbach hit a free throw and found Willie, who ended a fastbreak with a bucket and was fouled. He hit the free throw for the old-fashioned 3-point play and a 13-6 advantage with 5 minutes left in the half. But the Badgers assembled a 12-7 run in the final minutes to trim the deficit to 20-18 at the intermission.
The Badgers’ biggest adjustment in the third quarter was to get the ball to sophomore center Beau Patterson, who is listed at 6 feet and 10 inches tall and weighs 255 pounds. Marble Falls countered with Willie, who scored a free throw, a reverse lay-up and from the elbow of the free throw line. Jones added a free throw to give Marble Falls a 29-27 lead with 67 seconds left in the quarter. However, the Badgers scored two buckets in that time span, none bigger than Patterson’s 2-footer that went through the hoop as the horn sounded to end the period and give the Badgers a 33-29 lead.
By the end of the period, Patterson had scored 10 of Lampasas’ 15 points.
“It gave them a little juice,” Crain said of the Badgers’ two buckets. “But our guys responded in kind. You saw the resiliency of our kids.”
Indeed. Senior center Cooper Cochran buried a 3-pointer and caught a bounce pass from junior guard Roman Brown on a pick and roll to give the Mustangs a 34-33 lead 66 seconds in the fourth quarter.
That foreshadowed what was coming as the teams answered each other bucket for bucket. Scoring for the Mustangs were junior forward Noah Lyon, Jones and Willie.
With the score tied at 40-40, the Badgers had possession and called a timeout. After Lampasas missed the shot, a fight for the ball ensued. It went out of bounds on Lampasas. Marble Falls crossed midcourt and Crain called a timeout with under a minute left in regulation. The Mustangs worked the ball, wanting to take the final shot.
Lampasas, believing Willie would be getting the ball, allowed him to dribble and then began to trap. By the end, the Mustang had four Badgers surrounding him and he still managed to take the shot that was missed as the horn sounded.
“It was a broken play, and Tidus made the best of it,” the coach said. “He was well aware of the clock and where he was. He used his vision incredibly well.”
Lampasas scored two buckets for a 44-40 lead to begin the overtime. But a foul was called on a Badger, who also received a technical foul. Davis made two free throws and Willie connected on one to trim the deficit to 44-43 with 2:08 left in the extra period.
Then Patterson scored the next two buckets, one during a half-court set as he worked his way to the bucket from the low block and the other during a press breaker. And though Marble Falls senior guard Kody Smith hit a 3-pointer off a Jones assist to trim the deficit to 48-46 with 9 seconds left, Lampasas made free throws to escape with the victory.
“Kody has been a big part of what we do,” Crain said. “It was really refreshing and happening for him.”
Lampasas dropped in fourteen 2-pointers, five 3-pointers, and were 7 of 14 from the free throw line.
Patterson led with 19 points followed by Sisson, who connected on four 3-pointers and ended with 15 points. No other Badger was in double figures.
Marble Falls connected on eleven 2-pointers, five 3-pointers and were 9 of 19 from the foul line.
“We missed free throws, we missed some looks at the rim,” Crain said. “Against a good team like Lampasas in a low-scoring game, you take the points you can get. We missed looks in the paint.”
Willie led the Mustangs with 19 points followed by Cochran with 10, Dreisbach added 6, Jones scored 5, Smith had 3, Lyon dropped in 2, and senior guard Jaime Castillo finished with 1.
Crain noted the play at the end of regulation was designed to go to Willie for one big reason.
“At the end of the day, you put the ball in the hands of your best players,” the coach said. “We believe in (Willie and Smith).”
Marble Falls travels to play at Lago Vista Friday, Feb. 2. The junior varsity plays at 5 p.m., the freshmen at 6:30 p.m., and varsity at 8 p.m.
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