Burnet boys basketball beats Jarrell, loses to Gateway

CAPTION: Senior guard Jaxon Sparks was the catalyst during the win against Jarrell as he couldn’t be stopped from scoring. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Burnet High School boys basketball team is 2-1 in District 24-4A play.

After the Bulldogs defeated Marble Falls 43-38 Jan. 2, they beat Jarrell 66-55 Jan. 6 before losing to Georgetown Gateway 63-42 Jan. 9.

The Bulldogs, who are currently in third place in the standings, played a determined Gateway team that was seeking its first district win.

“(The Gators) played really, really well and kind of put it to us,” Burnet assistant coach Carter Carruthers said. “They earned that.”

Gateway led 24-9 after the opening stanza and 42-25 at the half.

Senior shooting guard Dallas Gurley and senior point guard Pierce Hammond led the Gators.

“They saw their first two 3-pointers go in, and they shot it confidently,” Carruthers said. “Hammond) hit a 3-pointer from NBA range. We watched him shoot the first two and made them both. We tried to guard the third one, and he hit that one, too. They hung 42 on us in the first half. It wasn’t the Bulldogs’ night.”

He commended the Bulldogs for playing fairly even with the Gators in the second half 

“We just dug too much of a hole and spotted them way too much,” the coach said. “We finally figured out how they were killing us, but it was too late at that point.”

Against Jarrell, Burnet senior guard Jaxon Sparks was on fire, dropping in 36 points thanks to 16 of 19 from the foul line and hitting two 3-pointers and seven 2-pointers. Sparks’ 36 points in a single game ties for fifth in program history in that category.

“Jaxon Sparks had an incredible night,” Carruthers said. “We were setting up in half court. When he’s getting downhill and getting to the middle of the lane, he’s probably at his best as a player and that’s what he was doing. So a lot of it was setting in the halfcourt and understanding how people are playing you and controlling and dictating the pace of the game. That level of point guard is what he was doing, and it happened to be his night to just get down there and go score. And so a lot of it came in the half-court him getting downhill, getting fouled, making a floater, and then hitting the three, so it’s good for you.”   

Senior guard J.J. Whigham added 16 points thanks to knocking down four 3-pointers and two lay-ups.

The Bulldogs grabbed 33 rebounds, dished eight assists and had four steals and two blocks and shot 37 percent from the 3-point line.

“They doubled up on us on 2-point field goals,” the coach said. “They got everything inside. Luckily we scored from other areas. It was a big night for Burnet basketball.”

Burnet will travel to play at Salado Tuesday, Jan. 13, then host Taylor Friday, Jan. 16. Junior varsity 1 plays at 5 p.m., junior varsity 2 at 6:15 p.m. and the varsity at 7:30 p.m. Burnet has designed Jan. 16 as Youth Basketball Night.

CAPTION: Burnet senior guard Braven Briant is known for his defense and ability to get the ball to the hot hand. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro