Mustangs earn first playoff win in seven years
AUSTIN — They say seven is a lucky number, but on Tuesday night, it was skill — not luck — that gave the Marble Falls High School boys basketball team their first playoff win in seven years.
In two minutes, 20 seconds, the Mustangs broke a 60-56 lead into a 66-61 victory against Austin Lanier in the bi-district round of the Class 4A playoffs. Though this marked the first time in seven years the Mustangs made an appearance in the postseason, they showed no jitters, nerves or lack of experience capturing the gold trophy.
"We’ve been building for three years for today," head coach Bruce Etheridge said. "I want to say we’re not done yet. I’m not satisfied."
The Vikings held a 48-46 lead going into the fourth quarter. Senior center David Morgan scored eight seconds into the period to tie the game.
Morgan was simply unstoppable on both ends of the floor. He stole a ball and ran it in for a dunk. He grabbed a loose ball and found senior guard J’Vante Blanchard, who returned from a leg injury, for a layup. Morgan scored on an offensive rebound.
After Lanier called a timeout with 2:20 remaining, Marble Falls — which struggled with ballhandling throughout the predistrict and folded under opponents’ full-court pressure — scored two layups off its own pressbreaker for a 66-58 lead.
Lanier added a 3-pointer before the horn sounded.
"I told them it was our time," Etheridge said he informed his players as they headed into the final period. "They made their run; it was our time to make our run."
The Mustangs raced to a 7-0 lead thanks to Connor Docherty, Morgan and senior post Max Lazos.
Morgan recorded a steal and passed to Docherty, who laid it in for the game’s first bucket. Lazos dropped in three points, while Morgan scored on a throw-in from Docherty.
After the Mustangs scored off their pressbreaker, 9-3, the Vikings called for a timeout and used a half-court trap to pressure ballhandlers into turnovers.
The result was a 7-2 run, but Morgan scored the last four points of the opening quarter for a 13-8 advantage.
Each team scored seven points in the opening four minutes 31 seconds of the second period.
The Mustangs’ largest lead was 29-22 with 42 seconds remaining. However, the Vikings created turnovers and scored the final five points to face only a 29-27 deficit.
Lanier continued the assault in the third period, though the team never led by more than four points.
Marble Falls sophomore post Rey Baltizar scored the final bucket of the period to trim the deficit, 48-46.
Morgan finished with 20 points, while Docherty added 12, Baltizar dropped in 10 and Blanchard finished with seven.