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Marble Falls boys keep it close in loss to No. 6 Wheatley

Kingwood Park High School senior post Nik Oakes (left) slaps the ball away from Marble Falls junior post Danny Rivara. The Panthers beat the Mustangs 66-45 on Dec. 5. Oakes led all scorers with 16 points. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team continues to improve each game it plays during their own Subway Shootout.

Though the Mustangs (2-6) have yet to get their first win in the tournament, they came close Dec. 6 in a 77-72 loss to the Houston Wheatley, ranked No. 6 in the latest Class 4A poll of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.

The Wildcats hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final seven seconds for the win.

“We hung in there,” Mustangs head coach Neil Laminack said. “We didn’t want to trade baskets.”

Marble Falls went on an 11-2 run to climb to within 60-58 with under five minutes left.

The Mustangs used the same formula in the final minutes of the second half that it used during the first half: pressure defense, long jumpers and passing the ball to junior post Danny Rivara for high-percentage buckets.

“He can finish,” Laminack said about Rivara. “We want the offense to run through him. He’s very unselfish. If they’re on Danny, we need to knock those long shots down.”

Wheatley took a 19-11 lead in the first period.

But the Mustangs opened the next quarter on a 10-0 run with buckets from seniors Cody Seelig, Jordan Wright and Travis Walker.

When Wheatley spread its defense to contain the outside shots, the Marble Falls guards passed to Rivara. By the end of the first half, the Mustangs only trailed 34-33.

Marble Falls finished the first day of the tournament Dec. 5 with a 66-45 loss to Houston Kingwood Park.

Rivara began the game by hitting a 3-pointer, which set the tone for the opening period. Marble Falls  drove to the basket for layups and spotted up for 3s.

A Kingwood Park 3-pointer right before the horn sounded to end the first period gave the Panthers a 17-16 lead.

That started an 8-0 run by the Panthers in the second that ended when Marble Falls senior guard J.T. Watson connected on a 3-pointer.

A Rivara free throw stopped a 9-0 by the Panthers, though Kingwood Park led 37-20 at the half and 52-27 after three periods.

The Mustangs outscored Kingwood Park 18-14 in the final quarter.

Laminack said he was pleased with the way his athletes played in the first quarter, noting the team got the start he wanted.

“We threw it inside, they doubled down, we threw it back out, we knocked down shots,” he said. “Everybody touched the ball, everybody contributed.”

But during the second period, when the Panthers picked up the defensive intensity and were quicker to the ball, the Mustangs struggled.

Laminack said his players’ hurdle is to keep one error from turning into multiple errors.

“We’re not keeping it in isolation,” he said. “We can’t take that knowledge and recover from it. It turns into two or three and then four or five. Right now, when things aren’t going our way, we’re not responding.”

Rivara drew a double and a triple team and threw the ball back out during half-court sets to regroup.

The coach noted the team isn’t getting enough consistent scoring for 32 minutes right now. But there’s more to the game and it’s important the players pick up the intensity level in rebounding and defensive pressure, he said.

“It’s kind of like in the NBA,” he said. “What kind of player do we need you to be tonight? Adjust and give us whatever you can.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com

AGAINST WHEATLEY: points – Danny Rivara 32, J.T. Watson 14 (four 3-pointers), Jordan Wright 6 (two 3-pointers), Aidin Parnell 5, Travis Walker 5, Cody Seelig 4, Zuri Buchanan 3, Brennen Wooten 2

AGAINST KINGWOOD: points – J.T. Watson 14, Aidin Parnell 9, Zuri Buchanan 7, Danny Rivara 6, Jordan Wright 3, Travis Walker 2, Cody Seelig 2, Drake Harkins 1

RECORDS: Marble Falls is 2-6.

UP NEXT: Marble Falls vs. San Antonio at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 in Max Copeland Gym, 2101 Mustang Drive in Marble Falls; vs. Austin Crockett at 1:30 p.m. and Austin Hyde Park at 6 p.m. Dec. 7 at Marble Falls High School, 2101 Mustang Drive