Marble Falls boys basketball loses to Georgetown Gateway, Lampasas

CAPTION: Marble Falls junior guard Cypress Neve attacks the rim and looks to set up a teammate. Photo by Christopher A. Miles/Christopher A. Miles 

The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team lost to Georgetown Gateway 44-34 Jan. 16 and to Lampasas 60-35 Jan. 13 in District 24-4A play.

The Gators took a 26-10 lead at the half.

Head coach John Berkman said Gateway turned Marble Falls miscues into points.

“Offensively, we weren’t playing well, which turned into some offense for them,” he said. “We were taking poor shots, and they were making theirs. Early in the game we did not do a very good job of making good decisions to take good shots. We forced them into some bad shots in the second quarter.”

At the intermission, Berkman said the Mustangs looked to regroup and lean heavily on one of the pillars of the program.

“Second half defensively, we had stepped it up, played really well and outscored them 24-18 the entire second half,” he said. “And that was with us fouling in the last two minutes. In the third and fourth quarters, our defense was very, very good. In the second half, our defense was elite. I want to say the (score)book showed maybe two or three actual made shots. So our defense was really, really tough in the second half.”

The Mustangs cut it to 36-31 in the final two minutes. Gateway attempted 18 free throws in the fourth quarter.

“Credit to them for making their free throws down the stretch,” the coach said. “We were fouling, and that’s the only way they were scoring late in the game. I’m so proud of our effort. We did not stop playing. Guys were rotating and doing the job late in the game.”  

Lampasas returned plenty of seasoned lettermen, and it showed, Berkman said.

“They had the most returners and most experienced lineup for sure,” he said. “And they play well together as a team.”

The Badgers led 17-10 after the first quarter and stiffened on defense in the second by allowing only four points. Meanwhile, they built their lead on the other end against a Marble Falls program that doesn’t want to allow more than 50 total points in a game.

“Some of that was late, and we just ran out of steam,” Berkman said. “We really struggled to make shots. We just need to be better about shot selection, so that our shots will be more in rhythm and sync.”

Marble Falls had 15 turnovers.

“So it wasn’t a turnover fest,” the coach said.

Lampasas leans heavily on senior center Beau Patterson, who broke the program record for most rebounds in a career against the Mustangs. But he scored only 11 points.

“We actually did a great job on Beau,” Berkman said. “We stuck with our game plan and did what we wanted to do. He’s been averaging close to 20 or more points. He had 27 the game before against Taylor. They were going to try to force it to him, and our guys did everything (to limit him).”

The coach said the Mustangs had a scheme designed to take Patterson out of the Badgers’ offense.

“They hit some outside shots, seven in the fourth quarter,” he said. “That really kind of nailed it. Our gameplay was to make somebody else beat us and not let Beau do whatever he wanted, and I felt good about the way we played him. He’s a great player, too, and finishes well around the rim and does some good things, so I felt good about that.” 

Two games remain in the first round of district play. Berkman didn’t mince words as he thought about the road trip to Taylor Tuesday, Jan. 20, and the home game against Taylor Friday, Jan. 23. Both nights are doubleheaders with the Lady Mustangs.

“We have to win,” he said. “We can’t afford to keep keep going backwards. We have to forwards. And so these two games are big. Now we have to get rolling in the right direction. We want a chance to make playoffs, we have to get it going, to get rolling that way. It absolutely can be done.”

The junior varsities play at 5 p.m. with the boys freshman teams and the girls varsities playing at 6:30 p.m. and the boys varsitites at 8 p.m.

CAPTION: Senior guard Gregory Lemon does his part for the Mustangs. Photo by Christopher A. Miles/Christopher A. Miles Photography