A whole new sense of pride was on the line for the Mavericks as they began district play against the Stony Point Tigers. A year of ups and downs, where injuries and unexpected absences of players have led to tough sledding for last year’s district champions.
The Mavericks welcomed in district play with a close 47-44 victory over a weak Stony Point team, as they were led by standout senior point guard Corey Calbreath who had 13 points in the winning effort. Unfortunately for the Mavs, Calbreath injured his hand during the game and is expected back in action in the coming weeks.
After that important win, the Mavericks detoured from district play to participate in the Round Rock tournament to close out 2012. The Mavericks finished out the weekend tournament with a 3-1 record, giving them positive momentum throughout the rest of the district season.
The next district matchup was against Westwood, a team that the Mavericks had no trouble with last season beating them both matchups. This year proved to be different, with the Warriors holding the lead through the first three quarters of the game. A 17-point fourth quarter by the Mavericks pushed the game into overtime, where senior Trent Nielsen’s free throw put the Mavs up by one in the final seconds which is all they needed to defeat Westwood 52-51.
Pflugerville was next in line on the Mavs’ district slate – the Panthers are probably the biggest challenger for the district championship this season, finishing in second last year with a history of strong success.
It took no time for the Panthers to get going jumping out to a big lead early, and never looking back. The Mavs were run out of their own gym, and played most of the game in the position of trying to keep the deficit at a respectable number. The Panthers showed their dominance winning 73-51.
With the perfect district record now out of the question, the Mavericks now headed up the road to play bitter rival Round Rock Dragons, one of the only teams to beat the Mavericks in district last season.
Once again the Mavericks had a slow start and never really woke up, shown by a 3-point effort in the third quarter. The Mavs also had no answer for Round Rock big man Leonard Allen, who destroyed the Mavs on the boards. Not one Maverick scored in the double-digits and the Dragons claimed the first bragging rights of the new year, winning 45-30.
The Mavericks mini slide continued with two more losses to Cedar Ridge and Hendrickson finishing off their first round of district with a 2-4 record. Luckily for the Mavs their second go around in district began with Stony Point, the last place team in district. It took close to a whole season but it looked like the Mavericks put it all together against the Tigers, holding them to only three points in the first quarter, and eventually running away to a 25 point victory. Hopefully for the Mavs this game will build forward momentum going into a crucial game against Westwood.
With a 3-4 district record and sitting in the middle of the pack in the district standings, the Mavericks will need to change something if they want to solidify themselves as a playoff team. Getting junior Trey Dilworth and senior leader Calbreath back together should provide a large boost to the team. Either way something positive needs to happen for this Maverick team which has dragged its feet throughout district play.
