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Mustangs 45, Leander Rouse 54

MARBLE FALLS — Trailing 26-18 at the half to Leander Rouse Jan. 6, Marble Falls High School boys head basketball coach Bruce Etheridge emphasized one point.

“Rey Baltazar led us in the second half,” he said. “He did it. He completely dominated the inside.”

The junior post scored eight of his 18 points in the third, but it wasn’t enough as the Mustangs (7-17, 0-2) dropped their second District 25-4A game, 54-45.

Baltazar led the assault in the third stanza, but it was a pass from junior guard Collin Edwards to sophomore swingman Garrett Gray that gave the Mustangs a 35-34 lead with 51 seconds remaining.


PHOTO: Marble Falls senior post Gayln Griffin (left) and sophomore swingman Garrett Gray go up for a rebound in the loss to Leander Rouse Jan. 6. Photo by Virgil Belk/Hill Country Sports Images


Marble Falls outscored the Raiders 17-10, but Rouse returned the favor in the fourth.

After Baltazar gave the Mustangs a 37-36 lead, Rouse went on a 5-0 run and never allowed Marble Falls to get any closer than two points.

With just under three minutes remaining, the Raiders went to their stall offense in the hope of preserving the lead and tiring out the opponent.

“I felt like our guys did a good job defensively,” Etheridge said.

Senior guard Clynt Powell hit a clutch 3-pointer and drove to the basket for a bucket for the Mustangs’ final points with 40 seconds left in the game.

Despite the loss, Etheridge isn’t complaining about his players.

“I was really happy with the way we played tonight,” he said. “It was good to come home after being on the road for (eight games).”

As a team, Marble Falls was 5 of 12 from the foul line.

Powell finished with 10 points, while Gray added eight.

“We didn’t get enough offensive production out of the others,” the coach said.

Marble Falls will travel to face Cedar Park Vista Ridge, 200 South Vista Ridge Blvd., 7 p.m. Tuesday.

jfierro@thepicayune.com