CONVERSE — The bad news?
Poor shooting and the inability to get into any sort of grove hurt the San Marcos boys in Tuesday night’s 56-43 loss to Converse-Judson.
The good news?
The San Marcos Rattlers are still in first place, just no longer alone.
The loss allowed Judson to move into a three-way tie for first place in District 25-5A with SMHS and San Antonio-Wagner, all sporting 6-2 records in league play.
“We’re still in first place and that’s the good thing,” SMHS head coach David Norris said. “This loss didn’t bump us out of the first-place slot. So we can still go out and win this thing.”
San Marcos (17-13, 6-2) can still claim a share of the district crown with a win at home Friday against Wagner and a win in the regular-season finale at New Braunfels-Canyon. However, if Judson (25-7, 6-2) loses one of its next two games (home against New Braunfels-Canyon and on the road at New Braunfels) and San Marcos wins out, the Rattlers will lay claim to their first district title since 1999.
Judson’s inside presence with 6-foot, 9-inch post David Wacker and 6-6 forward Tanner Leissner made it difficult for the Rattlers to score underneath, allowing the Rockets to ease into a 22-13 lead at the half. The Rattlers made just 1-of-7 from 3-point range while shooting 7-of-22 from the field in the first half.
“We had some good looks, but we just couldn’t get it into the basket. Some of that had to do with their height inside, but a lot of our shots would go in and out,” Norris said. “I felt like the guys stayed with the game plan. But at some point you need to catch a break and we could never get that break.”
The Rockets looked as if they were going to run away early in the third quarter, upping the lead to as many as 16 points. But two inside baskets and a traditional 3-pointer from senior post Alex Frye, along with a true 3-pointer from sophomore guard Ben Acosta helped pull the Rattlers within seven points of the lead with two minutes, 45 seconds left in the quarter.
That’s when the officials started to affect the flow by calling numerous fouls on both sides. While most of the calls favored Judson, the plethora of calls detained the pace, which didn’t bode well for the Rattlers.
“It slowed down the game,” Norris said. “There were some calls I thought they were getting and we weren’t, but I told the guys that sort of thing happens on the road.”
Judson went on to make 14-of-18 from the line in the fourth quarter, eventually leading by as many as 14. By comparison, San Marcos went to the charity only four times in the final frame.
“We just didn’t get the nod in this game but the guys kept fighting through,” Norris said. “The guys played hard enough to win. We just didn’t get that lucky bounce when we needed it.”
Frye led the Rattlers with 13 points, while Brandon Coleman scored 11. Jarveon Williams led Judson with 11 points, followed by 11 from Leissner and 10 from Wacker.
San Marcos now sets its eyes on Friday’s home game against Wagner, a team which handed the Rattlers their only loss (81-62) in the first round of district play on Jan. 22.
“They beat us in the first round and it’s up to us to try and figure out how to turn that around at home,” Norris said.
District 25-5A Boys
San Marcos 8 5 14 16 — 43
Judson 10 12 14 20 — 56
Judson (25-7, 6-2) — Jarveon Williams 18, Tanner Leissner 11, David Wacker 10, Julian Erickson 10, Derrick Luster 4, Terrance Martin 3.
San Marcos (17-13, 6-2) — Alex Frye 13, Brandon Coleman 11, Josh Coleman 8, Ben Acosta 6, Michael Hicks 2, Isaiah Brown 2, Zach Miles 1.
Next — San Antonio-Wagner at San Marcos, Friday, 7 p.m.