Back-and-forth game against Burnet ends in last-second win for Marble Falls
MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team scored four crucial points in the final seconds of each half to beat Burnet 46-45 on Dec. 4.
Senior guard Joey Blackledge made both free throws for the Mustangs with 10 seconds remaining in the contest for a 46-42 lead. Before that, junior guard Zuri Buchanan scored a jumper from the free-throw line right before the first half ended to give Marble Falls a 24-19 halftime lead.
PHOTO: Marble Falls High School senior point guard Colin Edwards (left) tries to dribble away from Burnet junior guard Colton Stevens during the Mustangs’ 46-45 victory against the Bulldogs on Dec. 4. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
Burnet senior forward Clayton Baumgart scored three of his 18 points just before the final horn sounded. Senior guard Trenton Hafley hit a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left to trim the Burnet deficit to 44-40, while junior guard Derek Kiser added a tip-in with 25 seconds remaining to make it a one-possession game before the Mustangs’ Blackledge hit his game-winning free throws.
Neither head coach was surprised the game came down to the wire, noting that when one team took a lead, the other answered.
Marble Falls led 44-33 with 3 minutes 32 seconds left in the game.
"Rivalry games," Mustangs head coach Neil Laminack said. "That’s what you expect."
"I’m proud of (the Bulldogs) for doing that," Burnet head coach Roy Kiser said. "I hope that says something about the character of the kids. I think it does."
TOP PLAYERS: Marble Falls — Rey Baltazar 15 points, Colin Edwards 11 points; Burnet — Clayton Baumgart 18 points, Jordan Barnard 10 points
ON OFFENSE: Points — Marble Falls: Joey Blackledge 5, Ben Stripling 5, Ishiah Carson 3, Cody Seelig 3, Frederic Filsoof 2, Zuri Buchanan 2; Burnet: Jai Patel 8, Trenton Hafley 5, Derek Kiser 4.
RECORDS: Marble Falls is 4-8; Burnet is 2-3.
UP NEXT: Marble Falls vs. Temple, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at Max Copeland Gym, 2101 Mustang Drive in Marble Falls; Burnet vs. Wimberley, 8 p.m. Dec. 11 at The Doghouse, 1000 The Green Mile in Burnet