18 WINS AND COUNTING
Lampasas 53, Marble Falls 48
Badgers can finish season in fourth-place tie with win and Vista Ridge loss tonight

PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE LHS junior Warren Scott forces a jump ball in Friday's 53-48 win at Marble Falls. Scott hit two 3-pointers in the game and finished with eight points.

When Pflugerville Hendrickson officially knocked the Lampasas High School boys' basketball team out of playoff contention on Jan. 29, the Badgers were put in a position to either play out the string or set new goals.

They chose to set new goals.

Those goals: 1) to finish the season with four straight wins which would give them 19 -- the most any LHS team has won since the 1999- 2000 team finished 22-14 and 2) to finish in a fourth-place tie with Cedar Park Vista Ridge.

With a win tonight against Burnet, they could achieve both goals.

"I certainly hope the entire town shows up to see Senior Night and the seniors' final game against Burnet," LHS head coach Scott Harrelson said. "The team has been fun to watch and has played with passion this season. Senior Night will be very special because these seniors have fought through three losing seasons to put together this special season in which they won a tournament (Lorena) and have won six district games with one left.

"The opportunity to win 19 games is now the goal of this team, and they are focused. I hope the stands are packed."

The Badgers (18-12 overall, 6-7 in District 25-4A) gained the program's first sweep of Marble Falls with a 53-48 win on Friday. The win, coupled with Vista Ridge's loss to Pflugerville Connally, puts LHS in position to tie Vista Ridge with a win and a Rangers loss to Lake Travis.

Starting next season, the top four teams in each Class 4A district advance to the postseason. The Badgers split the season series with Vista Ridge, losing 47-45 on the road and winning 60-52 at home.

In the win against Marble Falls, the Badgers jumped out to a 25-16 halftime lead.

Junior Warren Scott opened up the inside game with two early 3- pointers, setting up junior Heath Hopson and senior Heath Cofield to take over the game in the paint. Senior guard Clay Tyner and sophomore guard Vann Millican provided Hopson and Cofield with the opportunities inside

"Hopson and Cofield dominated the inside game because Tyner and Millican ran the game smoothly and methodically," Harrelson said.

Hopson led all scorers with 18 points, hitting 4 of 6 from the field -- including a trey -- and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Hopson also led the team with seven rebounds.

Cofield scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Scott and Tyner finished with eight and seven points, respectively.

Millican registered four rebounds. Tyner absorbed three charges in the game and distributed four assists.

Scott recorded four assists, and Phillip Weber added two.

Home Game Tonight

 

The Lampasas High School boys' basketball team will close its season tonight when it plays host to Burnet at 8 p.m.