Marble Falls boys fall to No. 1 Alamo Heights to start tourney

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team lost to San Antonio Alamo Heights 68-35 on Dec. 5 to begin its own Subway Shootout tournament.

Alamo Heights (5-0), ranked No. 1 in Class 4A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, opened the game on a 17-0 run that spanned 6 minutes 14 seconds.

Travis Walker ended the Mules’ run with a fast-break bucket, though the Mustangs (2-4) still trailed 19-4 at the end of the first quarter. Before that, Marble Falls missed six fast-break buckets.

Marble Falls senior guard Jordan Wright scored eight points in the second quarter. The Mustangs trailed 36-14 at the half.

“There’s a reason why they’re No. 1 in the state,” Mustangs head coach Neil Laminack said about the Mules. “I think it took three, maybe three-and-a-half quarters, to realize that we need go out there and play and not be intimidated. Let’s find out how much better they really are.”

Marble Falls was outscored 14-10 in the second period and 17-15 in the fourth quarter.

Wright and junior post Danny Rivara each scored 10 points for the Mustangs with Rivara scoring six in the fourth period.

Alamo Heights was able to score in a variety of ways, from fast break points to hitting long jumpers and on second-chance buckets. Laminack said he doesn’t take anything away from the Mules, but the Mustangs suffered from unforced turnovers and missed layups.

“What I just told the kids is, fortunately, those are the things we can control,” he said. “We have to decide to start controlling them.”

Marble Falls continues the tournament against Houston Kingwood Park at 6 p.m. Dec. 5 at Max Copeland Gym, 2101 Mustang Drive.

jfierro@thepicayune.com