Willie’s drive, finishes has Marble Falls boys basketball in the thick of the district race

Fittingly, the Marble Falls High School boys basketball game against Lampasas Jan. 8 came down to which team could thrive in the moment.

And no player on the Mustangs’ roster handles those moments better than senior guard Tidus Willie.

In the final 18 seconds of the third quarter, it was his 3-point play that gave the Mustangs a 43-41 lead headed into the decisive period.

It was his tip-in and his shot from the elbow that that put Marble Falls back on top 47-44.

It was his free throws in the final 28 seconds — where he went 4 for 4 — that ensured the Mustangs secured a 61-56 win and take possession of first place in the District 24-4A standings.

“I knew I was going to knock those down,” he said. “I love those types of moments.”

By the end, Willie scored 26 points included 12 of 13 free throws to lead the way and hand the Badgers their only loss in district play.

“It feels great,” he said. “Lampasas is a good team. They played hard the whole game.”

Willie, who has scored more than 1,000 points in the three years he’s been on varsity, has been in these situations before.

At The Doghouse in Burnet Jan. 24, 2023, the Mustangs trailed 48-46 with 55 seconds remaining. The ball came loose and players from both teams dived to the floor to get it. Coaches didn’t how Marble Falls was awarded possession. But the Mustangs found Willie, who drove to the basket, was fouled and still scored. Then he made what turned out to be the game-winning basket on the ensuing free throw.

As Willie talked about that moment, he smiled and reporters could see a trace of blood on his teeth. Marble Falls had trailed by double digits early in the contest and Willie helped lead the Mustangs back to escape with a victory en route to winning a share of the district crown.

This season, the program has a new head coach, John Berkman, who is in his first year at the helm. He played the position Willie plays and understands what those moments are like.

“If you haven’t been in that moment, it’s hard for somebody to understand just how much pressure there is and just how much mental toughness you have to have in order to be able to finish like that,” he said.

Willie’s career high is 38 points against Georgetown Gateway, which illustrates his ability to score. But it’s his confidence in himself and his teammates that make the team succeed. Two years later, Marble Falls is third in the district standings after the first round ended, within striking distance of regaining the title.

“I feel like I start playing well during the heated moments,” he said. “Our team this year is more connected. We’re more of a family. We want everyone to score. Our goal is to win as a team.”

That means the Mustangs also have applied the same standards to each other, the guard said.

“We discipline ourselves,” he said. “We’re accountable for the simple things like missing lay-ups. We’re doing push-ups even if we did it perfect.”

He credits Berkman for what’s happening.

“Coach Berkman gets on us,” Willie said. “It’s what we needed.”

Though Willie scored 24 points in the victory against Lampasas this season to start district play, his night didn’t begin like that. He was 3 for 4 from the foul line in the first quarter and 4 for 4 from the charity stripe and a bucket in the second quarter for a total of 9 points in the first half.

Other players may have been discouraged by those results, but not Willie.

“He does a good job of letting the game come to him,” the coach said. “We don’t try to force it to him. We’ve got a lot of guys who can score. When we get other guys going early, it allows him to let the game come to him and then let him feed off them because now he gets one-on-one opportunities where other guys have done their jobs early. There are games where he gets going early and the other guys get to benefit later.” 

Berkman said he is blessed to have this senior class, which has experienced winning and the setbacks, and especially a player like Willie.

“He means a ton, he’s a great player, but he’s a good teammate,” he said. “And he obviously scores a lot for us, which is great and every coach wants a scorer like that. He’s a good teammate, he’s not one to demand the attention, he’s not one to demand it all be about him, which makes them a great teammate.”