Tiger Basketball falls to Lake Travis
A split in the two-game action for the Tigers basketball team gave DS important experience toward their goal in the coming district wars. Lake Travis, undefeated and ranked fifth in 6A, showed the Tigers how and why. Then the Tigers hosted old district opponent, Kerrville Tivy.
The Tigers hit a clearly defined bump in the road when they took on the Lake Travis Cavaliers. Dripping Springs, on a three-game win streak, looked anything but as they fell short in all phases of the game. Out-hustled for loose balls and rebounds, nervous hands and some bad decisions all played into the performance. Just signs that usually come with a team that has very little actual playing experience at the varsity level against a top-notch program. The result was a 58-31 loss. This represented one of the worst losses to Lake Travis in some time. No doubt with more experience the bumps will get fewer and farther between.
Prior to the game, the 1988 regional finalist team was honored. In attendance was Head Coach Poe Shelton and players Clint Baty, Trent Lyle, Michael Myers, Jason Walker and James White. Clint Baty is presently the Head Coach for Lake Travis and he took no prisoners from his alma mater on this night.
It was a slow shooting start for both teams as two minutes would transpire before LT would hit a 3 and by the halfway point would hold a 7-0 lead. It would be around four minutes before the Tigers would even get off a shot. They had more turnovers (8) than shots (5). Alema Louis would break the ice at 3.42 with a basket. LT went on another 7-0 run before Kyle Rioux would get two quick baskets in the last minute to make it a respectable 6-16 after one.
More shots but not much accuracy in the second. A quick DS basket and another at 3.49 was hit as LT extended their lead to 28-10 at the half. Less turnovers in the second half and better accuracy helped performance but even then the Tigers lost scoring ground. After three it was 41-21.
Kerrville was more to the Tigers liking as DS used a lot of players and took down the Antlers 54-40. Practices must be very competitive each day because Coach Swannack has a dozen or so players on the roster that are capable of getting valuable playing time and contributing to the wins. As the pedigree of the opponent went down, there was little anxiety and the team played well. They would rack up 17 points in the first quarter and lead at half 27-21.
Tivy was not able to get as close again. The best was 33-26 with just under five minutes in the third as the Tigers extended their lead to 40-29 after three. DS spent much of the fourth at the line and responded with a 9-12 performance.
Vs LT: Rioux 6, Xavier Phillips 5, Ben Bondurant 5, Colin DeWitt 4, Nick Statz 3, Louis 2, West Weichert 2, Lane Dominey 2, Price Siemering 2.
Vs Kerr: Trace Young 14, Louis 8, Tyler Smith 7, Rioux 6, Weichert 5, Phillips 4, Bondurant 4, Siemering 4, De-Witt 2.