PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Senior Aaron Reyna works his way through a herd of Hippo defenders as he looks to score during the first half Tuesday. Just like visitors at the zoo, the Badgers could look, but they could not touch the Hippos.

In a matchup between two victory-starved squads, Lampasas never led but repeatedly stalked to within arm’s reach of the prey, only to watch Hutto charge away to a comfortable distance.

In the end, despite their best efforts to snare their first district victory of the season, the Badgers walked out of their home gym empty handed after falling 59-53.

“At crucial times, we have a tendency to panic,” Lampasas head coach Scott Harrelson said. “Part of it is the athleticism we ran into. If we make any mistakes, [the Hippos] score quick.

“We make little mistakes, and they get a [fast break] down the court. We don’t get any easy baskets.”

Brandon Scott slaps the backboard after laying up the ball. The sophomore finished with 11 points. After falling into an eight-point hole to start the contest, the Badgers began flirting with their opponents by pulling within two points, 18-16. Hutto, however, used a 5-0 run to push its advantage back to seven.

Later in the second quarter, Lampasas trailed by just five at 27- 22, but Hutto broke away once again as Tevin Bellinger scored off an offensive rebound, and D.J. Wilson delivered a powerful dunk after generating a midcourt steal. To make matters worse, the junior guard was fouled in the process.

Wilson missed the and-1 free throw, but Denzel Bellinger collected the rebound and was fouled. He hit both foul shots to give Hutto a 33-22 lead before taking a nine-point advantage, 35- 26, into halftime.

“They got three or four breakaway layups in the first half, and they get about five offensiverebound putbacks,” Harrelson said. “There’s 20 points or so right there, and they scored 35 [in the half].

Guard Astin Murray prepares to release his lone shot of the first half over a Hippo’s outstretched arm. “We can control the game if we don’t let them get that.”

The second half was more of the same.

Lampasas scored six unanswered points to start the third period, cutting the Hippos’ lead to three at 35-32. Hutto responded, however, with seven consecutive points to go up by double digits once again.

Trailing by 10 points with less than two minutes left in the period, layups from Gabe Myles and Eduardo Davila brought the Badgers within six points at 38-44, heading into the final eight minutes.

Hutto scored two of its three fourth-quarter field goals and hit a pair of free throws minutes into the period to double the lead to 12 points, 50-38.

Down by 14 points at 54-40, Lampasas scored seven consecutive points as Brandon Scott sandwiched a 3-pointer between a pair of field goals from Davila and Carlos Cintron.

The Badgers’ 11-1 run ended when Hippo power forward Corwin Spears hit a pair of free throws to put Hutto up 57-51.

Davila responded by scoring the final two of his game-high 21 points off an assist from Scott with 55 seconds remaining, but it was not enough as the Hippos (11-14, 1-3 District 25-4A) held on to win.

In addition to Davila’s 8-of-13 performance from the floor (5-8 FT), Scott chipped in 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in the loss. Cintron and Aaron Reyna finished with five points apiece, while Ethan Byers led the team with six assists and a pair of steals.

Offensively, the teams were nearly identical from the field as Lampasas made 21 of 39 shots, and Hutto hit 20 of 39. The performances from the free-throw line, however, were stark contrasts.

While considered by most as the easiest shot in the game of basketball, the charity stripe was especially cruel to the Badgers Tuesday evening. Lampasas missed 13 of its 22 free-throw attempts, including 11 (4-15 FT) in the second half.

Hutto, on the other hand, made 19 of 24 to outscore Lampasas by 10 points from the line in the sixpoint win.

“If we make those free throws in the end, we win the game,” Harrelson said. “We are not going to be as athletic as other people, so our skills have to be better.”

The loss drops the Badgers into the uncomfortable position of being the district’s only team yet to win a game. The good news is Lampasas (8-16, 0-4) is just one game out of the playoff picture.

But the team has a tough trek ahead with four of its final six games coming on the road, including trips to No. 5 Lake Travis and No. 8 Killeen.

“We’ve got them right where we want them,” Harrelson joked. “They’re all overconfident.”

Lampasas wraps up the first half of district play tonight at 7 p.m. when it hosts Hendrickson (14-13, 2-2).

“Basically, every game right now is a playoff game,” the coach said. “We’ve just got to get a taste of [victory] and with Hendrickson coming in, it is a good time to beat someone we aren’t supposed to beat.

“Then if we get back at Marble Falls and get back at Hutto, suddenly, we’re in the hunt.”

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In subvarsity action, the freshman Badgers picked up a twopoint victory, 46-44, against the Hippos behind a team-high 15 points from Cullen Singleton, including four 3-pointers.

Tyler Perkins added nine points in the win, followed by Bryce Perkins’ seven points, and Shawn Meeks’ six. Mason Murray chipped in five as Lampasas improved to 12-8 on the season and evened its district record at 2-2.

Lampasas’ junior varsity team (7- 14, 0-4) lost to Hutto 66-55 after giving up 43 points in the second half.

Mario Zajicek and Dalton Moore tied for team-high scoring honors with 14 points each. Zajicek scored 10 of the Badgers’ 21 fourthquarter points.

Eric Deaton (8 pts.) and Dusty Carnes (6 pts.) combined for 14 points.

The freshmen play Hendrickson at home today at 5:15 p.m., while the JV squad begins its contest with the Hawks at 5:30 p.m.