Playoff opponents already familiar to Marble Falls hoops teams
MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls High School boys basketball team is ready for their first playoff game in seven years, while the Lady Mustangs are looking to end a two-game losing streak to a District 25-4A foe.
The Mustangs (17-15, 8-4) faced Austin Lanier at 6:30 p.m. today at the Toney Burger Center, 3200 Jones Road in Austin. This game is a rematch of a Mustangs’ 80-75 win Dec. 20 where a late technical was issued against the Vikings’ bench for an illegal substitution. Marble Falls, which has a three-point lead, made both free throws.
One area head coach Bruce Etheridge believes his squad has improved in ballhandling. Lanier pressured the Mustangs and converted mistakes into points.
"We’re taking care of the ball better," he said. "We feel our guards have improved."
Senior power forward David Morgan scored 30 points, while senior guard Connor Docherty added 20.
Marble Falls is coming off a 61-53 loss to Dripping Springs Feb. 15.
"Certainly when you lose, it gets your attention," Etheridge said. "It certainly got our guys’ attention. We feel like we didn’t play well that night, but overall, over the course of the second half of district, we feel like we’ve been one of the better playing teams in our district. And so we were concerned about the loss. We’ve let that go now because the playoffs are here. And it’s just an exciting time, especially for our community and our players."
The Lady Mustangs (13-22) faced Cedar Park Vista Ridge, a team that beat them, 60-27 and 49-33.
Since then, though, Marble Falls has faced four elimination games and has come away victorious.
Following the second loss to the Lady Rangers, head coach Stephanie Gamble said the outcome didn’t matter in the district standings Feb. 5 because her squad had to win at Leander Rouse and at Leander Vandegrift to have a shot at reaching the postseason.
They won both games and have won two playoff games since then.
Gamble said she was proud of her players for their effort against Vista Ridge, noting they performed better from the free-throw line and forced the Lady Rangers to go on a 9-1 run to secure the victory.
The third game between the two programs will be at Westlake High School, 4100 Westbank Drive in Austin.