Marble Falls boys basketball season ends in loss to Jarrell

CAPTION: Marble Falls junior guard Tidus Willie is bumped as he drives to the basket during the first half against Jarrell. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team lost to Jarrell 58-56 in the final game of the 2023-24 season.

The Mustangs finish fifth in District 24-4A with a 4-5 record, 12-17 overall and needed to beat the Cougars to force a play-in game with Georgetown Gateway for the final playoff berth. The Gators beat Lago Vista 47-31 to take sole possession of fourth place.

“I’m proud of my team,” Mustangs head coach Travis Crain said. “They fought till the last possession. I hope it was evident to everybody in the stands.”

The contest against Jarrell wasn’t decided until the final seconds.

Down 58-56 thanks to a Jarrell lay-up one play earlier, the Mustangs called a timeout with 5.5 seconds left.

“That’s a lot of time,” Crain said.

The play called for the Mustangs to get the ball to senior shooting guard Kody Smith, who was around the 3-point line, or to junior point guard Tidus Willie, who willed the ball to go through the net the entire game.

But the Cougars (17-15, 7-3 district runners-up) knew that and made sure neither was open. They decided someone else was going to have to beat them. As time was expiring, the Mustangs attempted a long-range jumper that was missed and caught under the basket by senior forward Davis Dreisbach, who attempted the shot and was fouled. But the officials ruled the clock had expired before the shot and the foul happened.

Crain said the outcome of this game says plenty about the district members.

“This is a very competitive district and speaks to the parity,” he said. “There was scenario where three teams could finish 5-5 for the last two spots. The evenness of this district where a playoff team from last year doesn’t get in shows the strength of it.”

Jarrell had a 52-49 lead with 4 minutes left in the game and went into its stall offense, and the Mustangs responded by playing lockdown defense and remained disciplined not to foul.

A Cougar finally attempted a 3-pointer from the left corner that was missed. A mad dash to the ball ensued and Dreisbach got it. Ten seconds later, he weaved his way to the basket for a score and trimmed the deficit to 52-51.

Jarrell responded by missing a 3-pointer, but a Mustang was called for a foul. Jarrell senior point guard Mason Dotson hit both free throws to extend the lead to 54-51 with 2:45 remaining.

Marble Falls mishandled the ball on the ensuing possession. Junior forward Garen Jones leapt to get the ball and turned in the air to pass to Dreisbach in the paint, who was fouled. Dreisbach made the second foul shot to trim the deficit to 54-52 with 2:37 remaining.

Again Jarrell went into its stall offense and ran almost a minute off. When the Cougars began to attack the basket, Willie stole the ball and passed to Dreisbach for a wide-open lay-up, who tied the game at 52-52 with 1:47 left.

Marble Falls was called for a foul and the Cougar missed both free throws. Again a fight for the ball ensued and Dreisbach got it. Just as the Mustangs got to mid court, Crain called a timeout.

Coming out Marble Falls looked to attack the basket. But when the Mustang drove and passed to a teammate, Jarrell stole the ball. The Mustangs fouled and the Cougar missed both free throws with 1:08 left. But this time Jarrell rebounded the miss. Confusion ensued with one official awarding a timeout and another calling a foul on the Mustangs.

After conferring, the officials called Marble Falls for a foul and put the Cougar on the line, who hit both free throws for a 56-54 lead with about a minute remaining.

“Even among the confusion, our kids stayed composed,” Crain said.

The Mustangs came down the court and got the ball to Willie, who drove to the basket and was fouled with 53 seconds left. He calmly hit both free throws to tie the game.

“That was the most comfortable Tidus looked at the free throw line,” Crain said.

After letting a few seconds run off, the Cougars called a timeout with 41 seconds left. Once more, the Cougars stalled the ball then took a shot with 15 seconds remaining. But the shot was missed and a Cougar got to ball and fell on the court. With the ball tucked under his chin, he called a timeout with 14.32 seconds left.

When the Cougars returned, they put the ball in the hands of their best player, Dotson, who didn’t disappoint as he weaved his way to the glass for a lay-up with 6 seconds remaining.

The Mustangs immediately called a timeout to set up the dramatic finish.

Both teams showed the importance of this contest the entire 32 minutes. They played to a 13-13 tie after the first quarter. Every time Marble Falls was about to go on a run, the Cougars called a timeout to reset. That was especially true at the start of the second stanza when Jones and Dreisbach each made a free throw, then Dreisbach added another bucket and Smith nailed a 3-pointer for a 22-17 advantage with 4:28 remaining in the half.

The Cougars came out of the timeout and answered with a 3-pointer. But Smith passed to Jones on a give-and-go for a lay-up they made look super easy for a 24-20 lead with 3:34 left. Jarrell once more responded on the ensuing possession only to see Willie complete a 3-point play for a 27-22 lead with 2:15 left. The Cougars added a 3-point play of their own and Willie made two free throws to give the Mustangs a 29-25 advantage at the intermission.

Jarrell regained the lead on a 3-pointer from the right side 9 seconds into the second half. But Willie scored then added a lay-up on a pass from senior center Cooper Cochran who stole the ball for a 33-30 advantage. Once more, Jarrell called a timeout.

When the Cougars returned, they hit a 3-pointer to tie the game and Marble Falls senior athlete Jaime Castillo answered with a drive to the hoop for a 35-33 advantage. Jarrell went on a 6-0 run that was stopped on a Smith 3-pointer from the left side to trim the Marble Falls deficit to 39-38 with 3:13 remaining in the third period.

The Mustangs didn’t score another point for the next 5:13 that allowed Jarrell to go on a 7-0 run. Smith ended the drought thanks to grabbing the defensive rebound and running to the opposite end. But instead of heading to the hoop, he stopped and stepped back to nail a 3-pointer from the right side to trim the Marble Falls deficit to 45-41 with 6:00 remaining in the contest. Both teams once more answered one another in the final minutes. Castillo scored then Willie completed back-to-back 3-point plays to cut into the deficit at 50-49 with 4:26 left.

“We were able to keep them within distance or at bay,” Crain said. “Jarrell manages the clock very well. It felt like we controlled their stall, we didn’t allow them to get away from us. You don’t want to say it comes down to one play. But they were able to stall and get the go-ahead (bucket).”

Just how evenly matched were the two teams? Marble Falls made fourteen 2-pointers, five 3-pointers and were 13 for 17 from the foul line. Jarrell connected on sixteen 2-pointers, five 3-pointers and were 11 for 17 from the foul line. In the fourth quarter alone, the Mustangs were 5 for 6 from the free throw line, while the Cougars were 9 for 12. The Mustangs outscored the Cougars 18-15 in the final quarter after Jarrell outscored Marble Falls 16-9 in the third period.

Willie led Marble Falls with 22 points followed by Smith with 17 thanks to making all five of the Mustangs’ 3-pointers. Dreisbach scored 10, while Castillo added 4, and Jones finished with 3.

Dotson led all players with 30 points thanks to scoring nine 2-pointers and was 6 for 9 from the foul line. No other Cougar was in double figures.

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CAPTION: Marble Falls senior forward Davis Dreisbach is fouled as he drives to the basket during the first half against Jarrell. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro