After a rocky 2-3 start in district, the varsity boys knew there would have to be a change.

“We started out a little shaky,” senior Andrew Logan said. “But we got it together quick and have been playing great ever since.”

Back-to-back losses to Cedar Park and Vandegrift in the first round made the team quickly reassess.

“Losing at Vandy was terrible,” Logan said. “The loss really put us into place and reminded us of how bad you have to want it in order to win.”

The Raiders bounced back with a four-game win streak, beating Vista Ridge, Leander and Marble Falls. The win streak included defeating Dripping Springs, the No. 1 team in district, for the second time.

“Our toughest game of the year would have to be our second game against Dripping Springs,” senior Wesley Geisler said. “We had already beat them once, and we knew that it would be hard to beat them twice.”

The win streak was broken by a nine-point loss at Cedar Park, but the Raiders recovered with a 15-point win over Vandegrift Saturday at home. They wrapped up district at Vista Ridge with a 53-50 win, giving them an 8-4 district record. They finished third in district and will play an Austin school in the bi-district round of playoffs next Tuesday.

“Playoffs are very intense,” junior Reid Walker said. “It’s a totally different change in pace. It’s so fast and uptempo. It’s harder because you only have a couple of days to prepare for that team, but it evens out and comes down to who executes better and who plays harder.”
*Yearbook staffer Hannah Bennett contributed to this story.