Start leads to outcome for Marble Falls boys basketball versus Georgetown Gateway
CAPTION: Marble Falls senior forward Davis Dreisbach scores two of his 22 points during the loss to Georgetown Gateway Feb. 6. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team lost to Georgetown Gateway 50-42 Feb. 6 in a District 24-4A showdown.
The outcome puts Gateway (4-4) in fourth place, while Marble Falls (3-5) is fifth with two games left.
The Gators set the tone from the start by being smart on the defensive end They drew three Mustang charges and raced to a 6-0 lead.
“Those three charges to start the game delayed us to start our momentum,” Marble Falls head coach Travis Crain said. “There’s a stop and a foul and momentum shifts.”
Marble Falls junior Jaime Castillo scored on a putback to get the Mustangs on the scoreboard. From there, the two teams exchanged baskets, none bigger than a Castillo steal and pass to senior forward Davis Dreisbach to trim the deficit to 11-6 after the first quarter.
Gateway senior forward Ben Bliss completed a 3-point play to start the second stanza and classmate Hale Burcham, a forward, scored from the low block for a 16-6 advantage 55 seconds into the period.
And though the Mustangs had some dazzling baskets of their own — including a reverse lay-up courtesy of junior guard Tidus Willie and a 3-pointer by senior guard Kody Smith right before the final horn sounded to end the first half — Gateway simply had a ready response.
The Gators led by as many as 15 points when they threw a full-court pass on a throw-in for a lay-up thanks to outrunning the Mustangs’ full-court man defense for the 24-9 advantage.
Crain said the Mustangs didn’t panic at the 24-12 deficit at the half. They were simply determined to change their fortunes.
The Mustangs proved their coach correct when they began the third period on a 10-5 run with junior forward Garen Jones scoring a fastbreak lay-up and a teardrop jumper to trim the score to 27-17. Then Dreisbach took over. He scored on a 3-point play and was fouled on another bucket. And though he missed the free throw, he got his own rebound and was fouled. This time, he knocked down both foul shots to trim the deficit to 29-24 with 3 minutes and 36 seconds left in the quarter.
But Gateway responded with a 7-2 run to take a 36-26 lead into the final quarter play.
Dreisbach continued his offensive assault, scoring back-to-back buckets in under a minute to cut into the lead 36-30. He again answered with a fastbreak bucket and Willie score a free throw to trim the deficit to 40-35 with 5:21 remaining in the contest.
“When we’re at our best,” Crain said, “those are the types of plays we make.”
Bliss responded with baskets for the Gators to give his team a 45-35 advantage with 3:35 left in the game. With 2 minutes remaining, the Gators went into a stall. Meanwhile, they made sure the Mustangs got only one shot attempt per possession.
“We had some really great looks that didn’t fall,” Crain said. “That was the tale of the tape. Once the ball leaves your hands, there’s nothing you can do. We had some in and out and some fall short. I thought our shot selection was good.”
He commended the Mustangs for their defensive efforts, noting that Bliss, who scored 23 points against Lampasas, dropped in 12 against his team and junior Travis Smith, who’s considered Gateway’s best player, scored only 3 in Marble Falls.
“I thought our defense kept us in it,” the coach said. “We had some good (offensive) looks that didn’t fall. We outscored them by four in the second half.”
Dreisbach led with 22 points followed by Willie with 7, Smith added 6, Jones contributed 4, and Castillo finished with 3.
Crain said the Mustangs never felt like they were incapable of scoring and getting stops to make a comeback.
“We were trying to make it work,” he said. “Kody took some good shots and Garen got to the rim. They didn’t fall. Tidus is a player who can get to the elbow and pull up. We were attacking their zone and moving them and finding their holes.”
Burnet (8-0) is in first place followed by Jarrell (5-3), Lampasas (4-4) and Gateway. Marble Falls faces the Bulldogs at The Doghouse Friday, Feb. 9, at 6:30 p.m. and then hosts Jarrell Tuesday, Feb. 13.
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