Marble Falls boys basketball sees the opportunity in the challenges
The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team begins its season at Lockhart Saturday, Nov. 11, with the subvarsities playing at 11 a.m. and the varsity at 12:30 p.m.
The Mustangs start the season as the defending District 24-4A champions and have seven returners. They are Jaime Castillo, Cooper Cochran, Davis Dreisbach, Garen Jones, Noah Lyon, Kody Smith and Tidus Willie. Seniors Bram Bowen, Gannon Curran and Chase Richard also join the team.
“When you have a season like that, you want to continue to build,” head coach Travis Crain said. “There’s no pressure on repeating and the reason why is we’ve always been very clear of what our goals are. We’ve been pretty locked in to doing our thing. It speaks to our players, who keep it there and work toward what we want to be. Hard work and intensity toughens kids. That’s the mindset we try to cultivate with this group. Hard work came into play every day.”
Crain pointed out the seniors were in the eighth grade his first year at the helm, while the juniors were in the seventh grade. So they’ve played in his system for years.
“You build relationships and you build equity,” he said. “It’s enjoyable growing together in a lot of ways and facing the challenges.”
He believes the district race will be as competitive as a year ago, noting that Burnet and Lampasas played each other on the final night of the regular season for the final playoff berth. Lampasas won in overtime.
“Our district will be very tough,” Crain said. “We have a great opportunity to compete and have a great season. Burnet is going to want to compete for a district title. Lampasas got off to a rocky start and made a heck of a run in the second round. Lago Vista got hit by injuries. If they’re healthy, they’ll be rolling. Every game is going to matter. We’ll have to show up and compete. I’m just excited for the season.”
The Mustangs traveled for scrimmages at Kyle Lehmann Nov. 4 where they beat Elgin and the host.
“This was a great thing for our team to see results from our summer and preseason stuff,” Crain said. “It’s a good result to see where we’re at. The hard work is paying off. I’m super proud of the players and our staff. Our guys are working so hard. I thought (the scrimmages) were a great success. “
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