Marble Falls boys basketball ends Florence tourney on winning streak
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior forward Cooper Gray is being counted on to contribute on both ends of the floor. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team won the silver bracket of the Florence Tournament Nov. 20-22 thanks to posting a 3-2 record.
The Mustangs (3-6) earned wins against Lucas Christian Academy 33-27 in overtime Nov. 22 and 51-32 Nov. 20 and against Florence 49-29 Nov. 22. Losses were to Waco Vanguard 52-38 and Slidell 46-18 Nov. 21.
“We felt good about the way we finished the tournament,” head coach John Berkman said. “We struggled offensively to score the ball (Nov. 21). But we came back (Nov. 22) and felt a lot better about what we did. It is a good way to finish the tournament for sure.”
The coach said there’s plenty to like about the Mustangs’ overall performance for the three-day event.
“We just made some gritty plays,” he said. “And I don’t know how to describe that other than just some toughness in getting on the floor and making some tough rebounding plays. Against Florence on Saturday, our first game was a struggle. We had foul trouble (in the first and second quarters) and we had some guys step up and just make some plays. So we had guys that are ready to go coming off the bench. We have guys that are making tough gritty plays. We’re in it for each other. As a team, we’ve been pretty unselfish so far, and this tournament was not an exception to that, and so that was good.”
The coach added that the players saw opportunities and took advantage. Top of the list are junior forwards Cooper Gray, who “had some good games for us,” and Marc Barrios, who accepted the challenge of being more offensive this season, the coach added.
“We’re depending on those two guys to score regularly for us,” he said. “No one can do it on his own, and we preach that a lot. Our program is that everybody’s got to do their part, and sometimes your part is different from game to game, whether it’s big-time rebounding or just making those gritty, tough plays on defense. And sometimes your job is to score because you’re the one that’s left open and you have to be ready every single time you get on the floor. So yeah, that’s what we started to see this weekend.”
The Mustangs made sure they packed their stinginess, which was evident throughout the tournament, Berkman said.
“Our defense this weekend was really tough,” he said. “I think the most points we gave up was 48, maybe 49. We struggled on Friday to find the bottom of the net. We just had a bad shooting day which happens. But our defense was able to make it where the games felt that they were within reach, to an extent, the whole game. If we can keep teams under 50 points, we feel really good about that.”
To be able to play five games in three days illustrates the Mustangs are in game shape, especially to end the tournament by winning two games in a row.
“I felt like that was one of the things that helped us,” the coach said. “The last game was an overtime game, and we didn’t score a ton of points, but we were able to defensively guard. We held them to 27 points in regulation and zero in overtime, and I felt that was due to us being in better shape than them and being able to handle ourselves down the stretch. And then in the first game (Nov. 22), we were able to outscore Florence in the second half 32-7, and so those things are at the end of a tournament. Speaks well for our conditioning.”
The Mustangs will play at Fredericksburg Tuesday, Dec. 2, with the subvarsities taking the courts at 5 p.m. and the varsity at 6:30 p.m. and end the week hosting their own HTeaO Classic Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 4-6.
CAPTION: Junior forward Vance Levert and the Mustangs end the Florence tournament with a couple of wins thanks to some gritty plays. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
