Marble Falls boys basketball earns 1st district win
CAPTION: Marble Falls senior guard Kody Smith scores two of his 13 points with this breakaway bucket in the fourth quarter that helped seal the outcome. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team defeated Lago Vista 50-41 Jan. 16 for its first victory in District 24-4A play.
“It was back and forth,” Mustangs head coach Travis Crain said. “The nerves are still much in play. We settled down and settled in.”
The Mustangs led 10-6 with 90 seconds left in the first quarter and 12-8 thanks to two free throws by junior guard Tidus Willie.
But the Vikings (0-2) had a 3-point play with 24 seconds left to trim the deficit to 12-11 going into the second period.
That triggered a 9-0 run that ended when senior guard Kody Smith found senior center Cooper Cochran for a bucket to cut into the lead 17-14.
After Lago Vista got the points back, the Mustangs answered with a 7-1 run started by a Smith 3-pointer with an assist from senior guard Jaime Castillo and a bucket and two free throws from Willie for a 21-20 lead. The Vikings, however, scored the final bucket of the first half for a 22-21 advantage.
“We felt really confident about how things were going,” Crain said. “We made a minor adjustment on defense. Credit to (varsity assistant) coach (Sonny) Wilson. We were starting to get stops with buckets. I loved our first half adjustments.”
Both teams answered each other to begin the third stanza. But the Mustangs seized control thanks to going on a 7-2 run in the final 98 seconds thanks in large part to Willie. He had an old-fashioned 3-point play, stole the ball and passed to Smith for a lay-up, and found Cochran on a fastbreak for a bucket at the horn for a 37-30 lead.
In all, the Mustangs outscored the Vikings 16-8 in the period.
“We were getting stops and getting buckets,” the coach said. “Where are the holes and how can we exploit them? We have unselfish kids who play together and like to make the best basketball decisions. We were dumping down and using bounce passes and moving the ball and going out and executing. I’m really proud of them.”
Castillo began the final period by hitting both free throws, while Smith passed to senior guard Davis Dreisbach for a bucket and a 41-31 advantage, the Mustangs’ largest of the ball game.
“Credit to Lago Vista,” Crain said. “They do a lot of disruptive stuff. They are a good team. They shot the ball well.”
Willie led the Mustangs with 14 points followed by Smith with 13, Cochran had 12, junior guard Roman Brown scored 4, Castillo dropped in 3, and Davis and junior forward Noah Lyon each finished with 2.
In other district games, Burnet (2-0) beat Jarrell (1-1) 47-41 and Georgetown Gateway (1-1) defeated Lampasas (1-1) 64-57.
Marble Falls will travel to play at Gateway Friday, Jan. 19, with the freshmen at 5 p.m., the junior varsity at 6:30 p.m., and the varsity at 7:45 p.m.
“The job doesn’t get easier,” Crain said. “It’s constant focus and intensity with deliberate joyfulness. We understand our assignments so we can be our absolute best at it and going out and executing it as best we can to meet our goals.”
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