Sweetwater, Wylie look good in Catclaw Invitational

By MARK WILSON / Staff Writer

Here's a scary thought for teams facing the Sweetwater boys basketball team this season - the reserves are improving.

The Mustangs only recently were boosted by the addition of seven players, including three starters, who had been involved in the football playoffs. As a result, early this season a number of other players on the roster got valuable playing time.

The highly regarded Class 4A Mustangs breezed to a 79-62 win over Class 2A Goldthwaite Thursday in the opening round of the 15th annual Wylie Lions Club Catclaw Invitational Tournament at the Wylie High School Gym.

Derrick Franklin led the Mustangs with 22 points, and Jason Blueford and Robert Reed chipped in 14 points apiece.

But it was the reserves - who once again saw playing time after the Mustangs took a 47-31 halftime lead with a 28-point second quarter - that caught the eye of Sweetwater coach Ken Chandler.

"I thought the play of our reserves was good today," Chandler said. "Brad Barnes did a great job. That's been one of my concerns. We had to replace everybody on the bench this year. Jason Blueford has improved over what he has been.

"We're getting better. We've been improving since we got our football guys back. Goldthwaite's got a good team. They played hard, and they're to be commended."

It was the first loss of the season for coach Mike Cocanougher's Eagles, who came into the tournament at 9-0. Thomas Keller led Goldthwaite with 13 points, and Todd Cocanougher added 12.

The Goldthwaite girls took a 19-point lead (51-32) over Wylie midway through the fourth quarter, then held off a rally that brought the Lady Bulldogs within seven (51-44) by the 2:20 mark.

Eryn McMahan popped in a 3-point basket for three of her team-high 15 points to give Goldthwaite the 19-point margin.

But the Lady Bulldogs got back-to-back 3-pointers from Kara Frazier and Meredith Ripley hit for four of her 11 fourth-quarter points during a 12-point run that put the game in doubt. But the Lady Eagles outscored Wylie 6-0 the rest of the way to create the 13-point final margin.

Ripley led the Lady Bulldogs with 21 points. Stephanie Anders, who entered the game with a team-high average of 13 points a game, did not score.

The Lady Bulldogs (5-7) also played early in the evening, and overwhelmed Class Aspermont, 62-20. Mandy Stark paced Wylie with 20 points, and Anders added 10. The 42-point final margin was Wylie's biggest lead in the game, which was tied (4-4) midway through the first quarter before the Lady Bulldogs got rolling.

"The first game was a big disappointment," Wylie girls coach Randy Courtney said. "We lost, and we all knew we didn't play that well. In the second quarter (when they were outscored 25-4), it wasn't us playing. Any time Stephanie doesn't score, it hurts us in two ways - it puts a load on somebody else, and we're not getting her points."

In the only other girls game Thursday, Hawley defeated Haskell, 42-39. Amanda Cobb and Julie Murphy led Hawley with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

For Haskell, Betsy Coleman and Shayne McKenzie each contributed 15 points.

In the other boys games, Wylie romped past Aspermont, 63-20, Ballinger topped Hawley, 44-34, and Whitehouse beat Haskell, 45-35.

The Wylie boys (7-5) took an 11-0 lead by the 4:17 mark in the first quarter, and the Hornets trailed 18-3 entering the second quarter. The Bulldogs then raced to a 35-9 halftime lead and owned a 47-point lead (62-15) with 1:24 left in the game.

Wylie had four finish in double figures, led by Mark Powell with 12 points. Kevin Chisum led Aspermont with seven points.

The Bulldogs forced a multitude of turnovers and were usually able to convert them into points on the other end.

"I was proud of our tenacity on defense," Wylie coach Kirby Chandler said. "We had 11 guys who played really hard for 32 minutes. I was extremely proud of our effort. We were able to create offensive points with our defense without giving up easy points. That's a bonus."

Ballinger's Jason Battle scored 13 points in the Bearcats' win, which put them in today's 2 p.m. semifinal against Sweetwater.

In the other boys semifinal game at 8 tonight, Wylie will take on Whitehouse, a Class 4A team that has won the tournament three of the last four years.

Whitehouse improved to 10-1 on the season while handing Haskell (8-1) its first loss since reaching the semifinals of the Class 2A state tournament last season.

The Indians got 12 points from Jason Briles as the team's only player in double figures. Lance Evans scored a game-high 15 for Whitehouse.

Whitehouse was extremely patient on offense throughout the relatively slow-paced contest against Haskell's tough defense, and outscored the Indians 25-18 in the second half.

The three-day tournament continues today at the Wylie High School Gym, and will conclude Saturday. The championship game for the eight boys teams is set for 8 p.m. Saturday, while the girls title will go to the team with the best record after completion of a round robin setup among the five teams.