Mustangs show better effort in second half

DRIPPING SPRINGS — The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team lost to Dripping Springs, 62-36, Nov. 25.

Tiger Daniel Alexander showed why he is considered the leader of the Dripping Springs squad.

He paced the Tigers with 18 points, multiple rebounds and solid passes to set up other teammates.

“If he’s not a Division I player, I haven’t seen one,” Mustangs head coach Bruce Etheridge said. “I really feel like he has another gear he can go to.”

The Tigers took a 4-0 lead that was cut when Bron Etheridge hit a three from the right side. 

But Dripping Springs went on a 9-0 run that prompted the Mustangs to call for time after they had committed seven turnovers.

Etheridge drove to the hoop and scored. David Morgan recorded a block right before the period ended.

The Tigers picked up where they left off in the second period, going on a 13-0 run that was snapped when Connor Docherty hit a three at the 1:33 mark. Quinten Causey scored the other points. 

“We looked tired in the first half, sluggish, we couldn’t score a basket,” the Mustangs skipper said. “I chewed them out pretty good at the half.”

Etheridge said he challenged his players to perform at a higher level, and they responded. 

The Mustangs won the third period, 15-13, behind baskets from Morgan and Etheridge. The two led Marble Falls on a 5-0 run.  

After the Tigers hit five free throws, Regis Parks buried a three from the right side. J’Vante Blanchard scored at the buzzer to trim the deficit, 42-19.

Quinten Causey scored on a putback to begin the fourth period. But Dripping Springs went on a 6-0 run that was stopped when Max Lazos scored from the low block.

Etheridge scored the Mustangs’ next five points, and Causey scored Marble Falls’ last bucket at the 1:57 mark.

In the end, the coach said the slow start was too much to overcome.

“We can’t have these quarters where we score four points and six points,” he said. “It’s too big of a hole.”

Alexander finished with 18 points, 11 in the second quarter. Two other teammates had nine points each.

Bron Etheridge scored 15 with four others adding three points and three more dropping in two.

The coach said the offensive goal was to get the ball to posts on the low block.

“When we went inside, we got what we wanted,” he said. “Our post players are wide open and we don’t get it to them. We have to put in more sets offensively to help the guys.”

Center Shane Minnick did not make the game. He was traveling with his family for the Thanksgiving holiday.

“It hurt us not having Shane,” coach Etheridge said. “But it was an opportunity for the other guys to step up.”

While Marble Falls played hard, the Mustangs skipper said they did not always play well. 

“Our guys did give us some effort,” he said. “We can’t handle the pressure. We’re just not handling it.”

He noted the players stayed with the man-to-man defense the entire contest. 

“Dripping Springs is very athletic,” Etheridge said. “They’re one of the more athletic teams we’ve played.”

And he also believes his athletes are capable of playing smarter.  

“They just have to grow up and be more composed,” he said. “We just have to get tougher.”

Etheridge said the holiday break is at a good time. 

“I want my players to spend time with their families,” he said. “I thought we gave good effort the second half. We’re not playing smart. I have to find ways to help the guys.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com

Photo by Jennifer Fierro