The Badger basketball team had its best road performance of district play last Friday night when Lampasas beat the Jarrell Cougars 71-29.
After jumping out to an 18-4 lead in the first quarter of play, the Badgers never looked back. They continued to win each quarter and dominated the contest.
Three different Badgers finished in double figures as Peyton Sisson led the way with 14 points, and Dylan Polmanteer and Beau Patterson both scored 13 points.
The rest of the scoring came from Calum Mitchell with nine points; Aidan Nuckles with seven; Jax Pratus, Tripp Stinnett and Ty Borchardt at four points each; and Bryson Roberts, who added three points.
After the contest, head coach Aaron Nuckles said the Badger offense still wasn’t quite as efficient as he would have liked, but the players continue to be very good defensively and are holding opponents to some very low total numbers.
“We love what we have done and where we are with our defense, but we are always looking for an addition or an adjustment,” the head coach said. “We have added some options for the stretch run that we worked with for certain groups and loved what that did for us.”
After looking at the offensive numbers over the weekend, the coach was a little more pleased with his offense than how he felt after the game Friday night.
“We got a ton of shots up and had a high number of possessions, leading to 71 shots from the field,” Nuckles said. “We did hit at 43% from the field, so when we look at it things were better than I felt they were.
“I really think we had a little bit of a slow offensive start again, but our defense kept them off the board, so all is well,” he said.
In the first two games of the season, the Badgers had their struggles on the road at Gateway and at Taylor. So to be able to take care of business the way they did last Friday is a step in the right direction.
“We answered another road game in district,” Nuckles said. “It is good to know that three of the first four have been on the road, and we have been able to get out with wins. Lots of mental lock and strength going in to handle those situations, but as always, we have more solid tests in front of us.”
Through the first four games of district play, both Lampasas and Salado sit at 4-0. Next up is a matchup between these two teams which will put one of them atop the district standings.
The Eagles and Badgers will meet in the Badger Den tonight with the game scheduled to tip off around 7:30 p.m.
It is important the Badgers don’t let this game get too big, because there will be a lot of basketball still in front of them after this contest.
“At the end of the day, it is another district game,” the head coach said. “The winner will be 5-0, and the loser will be 4-1 -- both solid records. The winner will be a game up, and the loser will be a game back, but the district championship will still be a long way from being secured, and there will be another big game on Friday.”
Senior Aidan Nuckles said he is excited for the opportunity to play this game at home. He expects an electric crowd in the Badger Den.
In the subvarsity games, JV Blue picked up a 44-37 win, but JV White lost 40-29 to Jarrell.
