The Mason High School boys basketball team lost to Junction 46-28 January 17 and to San Saba 38-28 January 14.
The loss to San Saba was 'quite possibly the worst we've played all year. They did put pressure on us. We came out flat and turned it over a lot,' head coach Denis Cano said.
He was surprised by the performance because the Punchers had productive workouts leading to the game.
'I thought we had some good practices,' the coach said.
'We didn't execute on offense and defense, we didn't help on backside. We gave up 12 points on backdoor layups because we weren't where we were supposed to be.'
Offensively, Cano saw the Punchers pass instead of shoot.
'We left shots we didn't take,' he said. 'We started strong and attacked them. Credit to San Saba. They played hard and played well.'
Fouls were a big part of the contest against Junction.
'They were getting frustrated,' Cano said. 'We blocked out and rebounded and did all the little things we didn't against San Saba. Buzzer to buzzer, we played hard.'
But the shots weren't falling for Mason.
'We didn't put the ball in the hole,' he said. 'If we'll play like that, we'll win a lot of ball games. The effort I was looking for wasn't there against San Saba and was there against Junction.'
He commended sophomore Cooper Ratliff and junior Corbin Martinez.
'Cooper brought it against Junction,' the coach said.
'Corbin played lights out.'
The second round of District 29-2A began, and Cano believes this team is on the verge of having the season players and coaches want.
'There are a lot of wins in front of us -- we have to go get away from us. We're hungry. It's a different feeling.'
The Punchers have a bye Friday, January 24, then travel to Goldthwaite Tuesday, January 28, with the junior varsity playing at 5:00 p.m. and the varsity at 8:00 p.m.
