After a slow start to the season and a third place finish in the McNeil Classic, the Mavericks hit the road for the annual Hays Rebels Classic. The Mavs entered the tournament hoping to repeat last year’s performance when they won the tournament.
The first game of the tournament matched up the Mavs with San Marcos High School in what proved to be an exciting first round game. Even though the Mavericks were up 29-24 at halftime, regulation proved to not be enough time as the two teams forced the game into overtime. In the extra period, the Mavericks barely escaped with a 1 point victory, led by a 22-point effort by junior Terrance Johnson. Senior Corey Calbreath also added 13 points.
Advancing into the winners bracket, the Mavericks faced Lucas Lovejoy in their second game. For a team that has prided itself around defense in the early portion of the season, the 20 total points allowed to Lovejoy was a season low, making for an easy 49-20 victory and a ticket to the next round.
Harker Heights awaited the Mavericks in their third game and so did the presence of junior forward Trae Dilworth, who hasn’t been with the team since the first game of the year at Anderson. The return of Dilworth provided an obvious boost – he had 14 points in the game. But it was the scoring of senior Trent Nielsen that really sparked the team’s success as he added 21 points. The game stayed close the entire way through, but the Mavs held off the Harker Heights Knights for a 53-48 win and a trip to the championship game.
In the championship game, the Mavericks were set up against former District 16-5A foe Leander, the team that kept them from the championship game in the McNeil Classic. The game was back and forth throughout until the fourth quarter when free throws were the difference in the Mavericks 41-33 victory. Calbreath added 11 to the cause and also picked up the award of Tournament MVP for his outstanding play all week. Also recognized was Johnson, who had 13 points in the championship game. He garnered a spot on the All-Tournament team. The 4-0 tournament record propelled the Mavericks’ season record to 8-6 as they gain momentum before entering district play against Stony Point on Dec. 20.
