Marble Falls boys basketball earns lopsided wins at tourney

CAPTION: Marble Falls senior Isaiah Lazos anticipates where the ball is going and steps into lanes to disrupt ball handlers. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team posted at 2-2 record at the San Antonio Independent School District tournament Dec. 5-7.

The Mustangs (7-3) defeated Eagle Pass Winn 63-41 to begin the tournament and San Antonio Southside 67-34 and lost to San Antonio Marshall 58-53 and to San Antonio Southwest 59-37.

“We played good basketball,” head coach John Berkman said. “Even in the losses, we played well.”

He noted the loss to Southwest to end the tournament didn’t start that way. The Mustangs had a lead and simply suffered a bad half of play.

“It came at a tough time,” the coach said. “We ran out of legs that last game of the tournament.”

This event tested the Mustangs in many ways. They faced programs that have more students on their campus than at Marble Falls. Couple that with the various styles of play and the athletes, and the Mustangs saw a variety of philosophies and faced matchups they hadn’t seen much of during the pre-district season. Berkman believes seeing it now will pay off later.

“Even in our loss to Marshall, we were down by 12 in the fourth quarter and cut it to four or two. We didn’t quit, which was a huge factor for us. Getting two wins against schools that have larger enrollments is big for us.”

A couple of District 24-4A opponents, Georgetown Gateway and Lampasas, are similar to the teams the Mustangs faced, Berkman said.

“We have to learn how to play against teams with more athletes,” he said. “Lampasas has some tall kids. They have big posts. Our guys responded. I think it’s a big deal how you respond when you meet that.”

One hurdle was controlling the tempo of a game and forcing opponents to play defense longer than they want. Berkman said he was pleased to see his players continue to stay in control of that portion, especially during the wins.

“There are a lot of players who can score,” he said. “We can score. We can do that at our pace. We can control the pace. We controlled the games offensively as well as defensively. In keeping teams under 50, we definitely think we can score. We want to be in control and dictate the pace.”

Overall, the coach said the Mustangs got a lot more out of the event than the contests.

“I’m proud of the team effort our guys gave,” he said. “Their growth is showing.”

The Mustangs host Austin Liberal Arts and Science Academy Tuesday, Dec. 10, with the subvarsities playing at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and the varsity at 7:45 p.m.

CAPTION: Marble Falls seniors Noah Lyon (left) and Garen Jones form a great one-two punch thanks to their ability to accept contact and get to the basket. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro