By Jim Irish
Cedar Creek’s unbeaten streak ended against Akins 75-68 in a non-district boys basketball game on the road on Nov. 22.
The Eagles had won their first seven games of the season, including the title at the Austin ISD tournament.
Cedar Creek led 51-48 after three quarters but was outscored 27-17 in the fourth.
“We still had control of the game until the fourth quarter,” Cedar Creek coach Valentino Maxwell said. “Akins played hard and wanted it more in the last quarter. We got outplayed.”
The Eagles shot better from the floor at 56% (28-of-50) than Akins 54% (29-of-56). But Akins hit more three-pointers (4-of-16) than Cedar Creek (1-of-11).
"... Akins played hard and wanted it more in the last quarter. We got outplayed."
-- Cedar Creek coach Valentino Maxwell
Cedar Creek point guard Robert Conrad led all scorers with 28 points on 9-of-18 from the
floor. He also sank 9-of-10 free throws and handed off six assists.
Kenji Franklin, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, contributed 22 points, seven rebounds, and two steals.
Micah McDonald added 14 points and seven rebounds.
Basketball roundup
CC starter Bryan Allen missed the game because of illness, Maxwell said.
Cameron Morrow led Akins (5-0) with with 22 points and six rebounds. Caleb Hernandez chipped in 14 points and seven assists. Justin Gonzalez scored 12 points.
Cedar Creek plays host to its tournament with an opener against Lockhart (0-5) at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Eagles compete against Santa Fe (4-1) at 7:45 p.m. Thursday. On Friday, they face off against Brenham (4-3) at 10:35 a.m. and against Taylor at 1:15 p.m. Ten teams are entered in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Bastrop split non-district games, crushing Lockhart 66-48 on Nov. 19 and falling to Smithville 39-38 on Nov. 22.
The Bears (1-3) outscored Lockhart in all four quarters, including 20-9 in the fourth.
Jaelyn Gratten and Nathaniel Mosley each scored 15 points for Bastrop. Dylan Tyson chipped in 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Keyshon Moore and Max Miller added seven points each. Moore had five steals.
Against Smithville, Bastrop led 32-29 after three quarters but was outscored 10-6 in the fourth. The Bears hit only 30% (15-of-50) from the floor and sank 33% (3-of-9) from the free throw line.
Mosley led Bastrop with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
Joseph Mokry was the top scorer for Smithville (2-1) with 19 points. Ramon’s Adams added 10 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals.
The Bears play host to Brenham at 7:30 tonight in a non-district contest.
Bastrop competes in the Cedar Creek tournament against the Liberal Arts & Science Academy at 1 p.m. Thursday, Decatur at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Gatesville at 4:30 p.m. Friday, and Salado at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Jim Irish is a freelance writer living in Bastrop, Texas