Marble Falls boys basketball needed 1 more run

CAPTION: Marble Falls junior forward Garen Jones and the Mustangs display plenty during the loss to the Liberal Arts and Science Academy of Austin Jan. 5. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team lost to the Liberal Arts and Science Academy of Austin 71-65 Jan. 5.

The contest was a back-and-forth affair with neither team gaining a significant advantage.

The Raptors led by a point after the first quarter, and the contest was tied at the half only to have the Raptors lead by two after three periods.

“We were up by four, we were up by five, and we could never really pull away from them,” Marble Falls head coach Travis Crain said. “As cliche as it sounds, it was a game of runs. They happened to go on the last one.”

Junior guard Tidus Willie led with 18 points followed by senior guard Davis Dreisbach with 13, senior guard Kody Smith had 10, and senior center Cooper Cochran and junior forward Garen Jones each had 8.

While the Mustangs would have liked a different outcome, they faced some obstacles leading to this contest.

After taking the mandatory five-day holiday break issued by the University Interscholastic League, Marble Falls was able to play in two games of the Wimberley holiday tournament Dec. 28 before deciding not to play the remainder of the tournament because few athletes were available.

So Marble Falls didn’t play in a game for more than a week before facing the Raptors.

“For us to come in and regroup and have some practices in leading up to that game was a good thing for us,” Crain said. “We’re healthy and we’re getting healthier.”

Next up is the District 24-4A opener at Lampasas Friday, Jan. 12, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m., the freshmen playing at 6:30 p.m., and the varsity at 8 p.m. It’s a doubleheader with the Lady Mustangs.

Though the Mustangs are the defending district champions, coaches are taking a different approach. Crain said they’re emphasizing simply winning a district title, not repeating.

“You’re not defending anything — let go of that,” he said. “Go attack the next thing in front of you. We don’t talk about defending; we talk about attacking this district run. We have 10 games in front of us to achieve our next goal. We’re going to let the chips fall where they fall. We don’t defend — we attack.”

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