Posted: Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:42 AM - 10,224 Readers
By: Temple Daily Telegram
The Temple Wildcats used a familiar formula to claim the consolation championship of Lake Travis' Hill Country Classic.
Temple's stingy defense led its rally in the final 2-plus minutes to beat Katy Seven Lakes 52-49 and the Wildcats slowly pulled away from Round Rock Westwood for a 58-49 win in the consolation final Saturday afternoon.
With three victories this weekend, Temple (11-1) recorded as many wins as it had during all of last season and the most since winning 13 in 2006-07.
The Wildcats held all four of their opponents at the tournament and all but two of 12 opponents this season under 50 points.
"If we could do that," Temple coach Tim Thomas said, "we have a chance to win any game."
In the opener, the Wildcats trailed in a tightly fought contest much of the way until a final spurt late in the fourth quarter. Down four points with 2½ minutes left, guard Shaquille White hit a 3-point shot to cut the deficit to one. On Temple's next possession, forward Erik Valdez made a 3-pointer to give Temple a two-point lead, then guard Avery Polchinksi provided the winning margin with a free throw.
The Wildcats forced the Spartans into seven turnovers in the fourth quarter and three in their last four possessions.
"That was huge for us," Thomas said.
Valdez scored a team-best 22 points, forward Donald Robinson had eight and Polchinski added seven.
In the consolation championship, Temple trailed by as many as 12 during a sluggish first half but rallied to take a 24-20 lead by halftime.
"Sometimes when you come in not focused, it shows on offense," Thomas said. "We weren't aggressive and we didn't use our defense to get us going."
The Wildcats put the game away in the third quarter, opening up a 14-point lead heading into the final frame.
Valdez scored 18 points, Polchinski had a season-best 15 and Robinson added 11. Valdez and Polchinski were named to the all-tournament team.
Temple hosts Waco University at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Wildcat Gym.
Belton boys move past Manor, finish 3-1 in Elgin tournament
ELGIN - Coming off one of their best performances of the season, the Belton Tigers didn't exactly continue that high level Saturday. They still did plenty, though, to ease past Manor 54-41 to finish 3-1 at the round-robin Charles "Doc" Graham Tournament.
"To be honest I thought we played a little lethargic," Belton coach John Osborn said. "We just had enough defense late."
The Tigers lost to Class 4A No. 11-ranked Austin LBJ 76-70 Friday night but took away optimism with how well they competed against one of the most athletic and talented teams in the state.
"I'm glad we were able to win because after last night we extended a lot of energy," Osborn said. "We played so hard and so well and I was fearing a letdown. Even though we weren't up to par we still made the plays when we needed to."
Senior Eric Braeuer led the Tigers (8-3) with 13 points and juniors Adrian Henderson and T.J. Sholars added nine points each.
Known for his sharp shooting, Braeuer made his biggest impact on defense by holding Mustangs guard L.D. Williams to 18 points, 12 fewer than his previous game total.
"Eric did a really good job on him," Osborn said. "I know he had 18 but they were a tough 18."
Belton grabbed a 21-7 lead in the second quarter, only to allow a 12-0 spurt to make it close. The Tigers kept a six- to eight-point lead heading into the fourth and pushed it to 16 to finish off Manor.
"We handled their press well," Osborn said. "There was a play when Henderson scored off a (Sean) Voss feed in the lane and that kind of gave us a spark. Then we were able to spread them out with Sean and Eric."
Voss, who scored 54 points during the four games, and Braeuer, who had 53, were named to the all-tournament team.
Belton plays at 7 Tuesday night against Pflugerville Connally at Tiger Gym.
