The Mason High School boys basketball team is enjoying its longest winning streak of the season at three games thanks to beating San Saba 43-41 February 7 and Center Point 6835 February 4. The Punchers defeated Johnson City 48-25 January 31.
Head coach Denis Cano said one key change has made the difference.
'In essence, I let go of the reins,' he said. 'I told them that every chance we had we were going to run. At that point, we started turning the corner.'
Sophomore guard Cooper Ratliff was fouled and hit a free throw with no more than three seconds left against San Saba to seal the victory.
But because the Punchers lost to Harper twice during the District 29-2A campaign, the Longhorns hold the first tiebreaker, which is head-to-head results. Therefore, Harper will advance to the playoffs.
Cano said the Punchers, whose season started December 3, needed some time to overcome a major hurdle.
'Going back a few games to Junction, we'd been stagnant,' he said. 'We were in games but couldn't get key stops. It looked like we weren't going to be able to do it.'
That was January 17, a 46-28 loss to the Eagles and the final game of the first round of district play. Mason followed that with a season-defining setback to Harper 46-44 to begin the second round January 22.
However, as the season unfolded, the court chemistry simply got better. The Punchers were able to learn each other's tendencies, particularly those of freshman Jaxon Valverde and sophomore Rylan Hershman and senior Caden Hershman.
The underlying message of simply going and playing resonated with the squad, and the players 'learned through the process.'
Against Center Point, the Punchers had 21 assists with Valverde dishing nine and sophomore Cooper Ratliff recording six.
Against San Saba, Mason had 12 assists. 'We outrebounded them, we cut down on turnovers,' Cano said. 'We're giving up good shots for better shots. We're playing tough defense, we're getting big stops. We're at the point that the guys trust each other.'
The program said good-bye to seniors Chantz Reed and Caden Hershman. But this team laid the important groundwork for what's to come, the coach said.
'Chantz is our leader. He and Cooper cut up with each other,' he said. 'We lost some games we should have won,. They played lights out. I'm extremely pleased with how we ended the season.'
