Marble Falls boys basketball beats Greenwood

CAPTION: Marble Falls junior forward Marc Barrios came through with the game winner against Greenwood that illustrates the work the Mustang has done in the offseason. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team defeated Midland Greenwood 38-35 Dec. 4 for its only win in the HTeaO Hoops Classic.

The Mustangs (3-6) lost to Georgetown East View 60-35, San Antonio Edison and

“We were playing some pretty big, competitive schools,” head coach John Berkman said. “But it was good for us to see that level of play. We want to challenge ourselves early in the season, so we can learn about ourselves and also learn what we need to do to be ready for that kind of competition when it comes in district or even in the playoffs.”

The victory against Greenwood (5-5) exemplified the Mustangs’ philosophy on the hardwood.

Their goal is to keep opponents to under 50 points per game. That allowed them to stay close to the Rangers, who dropped in 16 in the opening stanza for a two-point lead headed into the second period.

But Marble Falls turned up the defensive intensity and Greenwood scored six, four and nine points in each of the next three quarters.

Meanwhile Marble Falls overcame scoring only three points in the second period and six points in the third where the Mustangs trailed 22-17 at the half and 26-23 going into the final stanza.

Junior guard Beckett Berkman hit two free throws to start an 11-0 run that included a Charlie Martin a 3-pointer, two field goals by junior forward Marc Barrios, and two free throws by senior guard Gregory Lemon to give the Mustangs a 34-27 lead that forced the Rangers into a timeout with three minutes left.

Greenwood responded by going on an 8-0 run to regain the lead 35-34 with less than a minute remaining.

The Mustangs called a timeout to set up a play. Barrios “hit a bucket with little short baseline jumper,” John Berkman said.

Then the Mustangs’ clamped down on defense.

“With about 20 seconds left, we forced them into a tough 3-point shot, and they missed it,” the coach said. “And we got the rebound and scored with like two seconds left to seal the deal.”

That bucket was courtesy of Vance Levert.  

The coach has been saying the Mustangs are wanting Barrios to play a bigger role on both sides of the floor this season, and his buckets throughout the contest, including the game-winner, says plenty.

“We are depending a lot on Marc and for us to be successful, we need him to come through on both ends – offensively and defensively,” he said. “He’s an athletic guy who’s long — built like a basketball player — and hitting a shot like that builds his confidence in a lot of ways knowing that, one, we would give him the ball to take that shot and two, that he can make it. It makes taking other shots throughout the game that much easier for him mentally to take and be confident in himself.”

Of course the reason why the Mustangs put themselves in position to earn the victory goes back to their defense.

“Our goal is always to hold teams to under 50 points,” John Berkman said. “We think that gives us the best chance to be competitive. We need our offense to be better than what it has been. There’s no doubt about that, but we’re still trying to figure out our offensive identity currently. But defensively, I feel like we are really playing hard. We’re scrapping for rebounds. We’re scrapping to get down the floor and a lot of guys are finding ways to contribute in that way.  I think the fact that we’ve got the defensive side figured out early is good, but we’ve got to do a lot of work on our offensive end.”

That work will continue against another tough opponent – Faith Academy of Marble Falls. The Flames will visit Max Copeland Gym Tuesday, Dec. 9, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow at 6:30 p.m.

The Flames, who are currently ranked No. 3 in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ Class 3A poll by voters of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, feature a talented and experienced roster led by seniors Judah Phillips, a 6-foot and 10-inch center, and Jase Marshall, a point guard who sets the plays on both ends. Both are four-year starters and have been apart of three district championships.

“They are a team that I think we can match up well with and that we can be competitive with, and they’re also right down the road,” John Berkman said. “I’ve always been a fan of playing teams that are good competitive games for our teams, and I think that’s what that is. They’re a smaller school than us probably as far as numbers of kids in school, but athletically, their basketball program has been very talented for quite some time now. Those are games that we want.”

Though the two programs will meet on the hardwood for the first time, John Berkman noted the players attend each other’s open gyms and have played pick-up games during the offseason. The families of the players at both schools enjoy such strong friendships that they’ve talked about getting together for a postgame meal once the contest ends.     

“(Faith head coach Zakk) Revelle and I are both looking for good games and trying to make our schedule as competitive for us as possible to get ourselves ready for the district season and then the postseason,” the Mustangs skipper said. “I think it does that for both of us.” 

CAPTION: Junior forward Vance Levert hit a shot at the end of the Greenwood contest to give the Mustangs the needed separation for a win. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro