The Mavericks returned to the court for the start of the 2012-2013 basketball season with a plate full of expectations stemming from last year’s team which rattled off 26 straight wins and a outright district championship. A new look Maverick team only returns one starter and has been challenged by the inexperience during the early part of the season.
Their season kicked off at Anderson High School in a matchup between two of CenTex’s best last year. McNeil has lost their past two openers to Anderson, and this year would provide no different outcome. The Mavericks were trounced 80-59. Junior Trae Dilworth led the team in scoring with 19 points and fellow junior Terrance Johnson added 13. Even with the 21-point defeat, the team felt optimistic considering last year the Anderson loss in the opener led to a 26-game win streak.
The second game of the year brought Del Valle to McNeil and the Mavs were able to rebound from their first game to snag a 54-45 win. Senior point guard Corey Calbreath took over and scored 15 in the winning effort. With the record at 1-1 the Mavs then faced back to back overtime losses to Cedar Park 46-47 and Bowie 38-46, two teams the Mavericks handled last year. In a final tune-up before the McNeil Classic, the Mavericks took on former district foe Georgetown, one of the only teams which took down the Mavs last year during district play. The Mavericks led by two after one quarter of play but the lead slipped away and Georgetown picked up the win, despite Calbreath’s 17 points.
McNeil’s annual tournament kicked off with the Mavs playing McCallum, the first of the four game slate. Even though McCallum took the early lead, 13-8 after the first quarter, the Mavs took back the lead and cruised to a 57-52 victory. In the second game of the day, the Mavericks matched up against Midland, and led by 17 after one quarter and breezed to a 30 point win, 61-31.
With an unscathed tournament record, the Mavericks then faced another former district opponent in Leander, which the Mavs held a perfect record over last year. With a spot in the championship game on the line, Leander outplayed a flat Mavericks team which looked nothing like they did in the previous two games. Leander never looked back from the opening minutes, winning 54-37.
The loss placed McNeil in the third place game to rematch Cedar Park and the Mavericks came to avenge the loss earlier in the season. Senior Trent Nielsen lead the team in scoring with 17 and Terrance Johnson added 11 as the Mavs held on to a two point victory and claimed third place with a 3-1 tournament record.
Next, the Mavericks traveled to Elgin to for another non-district game. Despite another solid scoring performance by Nielsen, who had 23, the Mavericks were unable to overcome the deficit, losing 60-59.
“We have had a lot of close games but haven’t been able to pull out the win,” Nielsen said. “We did well in the McNeil Classic and we’re looking to build on that performance.”
With a 4-6 record, the team is still searching for someone to become the dominant scorer they need. The lack of experience has tailored right into the losses in late game/overtime situations. This team may not be a 26-game win streak type of team, but the boys will grind out games on defense. Once they find their main threat again, the Mavs will be a team to watch out for once district play begins.
