Mustangs shoot for playoffs

Jordan Wood

By L. Scott Hainline, Houston Chronicle Correspondent:

Manvel and Dawson have established themselves among the elite in the area and state, so for the other seven District 24-4A boys basketball teams, that leaves two playoff spots.

"Manvel and Dawson are ranked in the top 10 (in Class 4A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches), and they're very talented and well coached, so most of the district comes to that realization," Friendswood coach Jeff Keener said. "Now that's not to say Manvel and Dawson can't be beat, and if we play Friendswood basketball against them, we have a chance, but overall, if you can get eight or maybe nine wins, you have a good shot to make the playoffs behind Manvel and Dawson."

Friendswood broke even in four pre-holiday league outings by beating Fort Bend Ridge Point 49-47 and La Marque 54-47, and falling to Dawson 94-48 and Clear Falls 45-42.

Ridge Point and Clear Falls are first-year varsity programs with no seniors and part of a 24-54A lineup that also features Texas City and Ball.

"La Marque and Ridge Point were two good district wins for us," Keener said. "We still have 11 (district games) to go and every one is going to be like a playoff game."

As expected, Manvel and Dawson got off to unbeaten league starts, and also as expected, there was already a logjam right behind with only Ball still searching for a first district victory.

The Mustangs finished third behind then state-ranked La Marque and Ball in 24-4A and went on to defeat Brazosport 71-41 and lose to Jones 60-55 in the playoffs for a 24-12 finish last season.

"We lost eight seniors and about 95 percent of our offense off that team, so basically, it's like starting over," Keener said. "We have three sophomores who are seeing a lot of playing time and they were playing freshman basketball a year ago."

Seniors Will Hibbs (6-7 post-forward) and Colton Mick (6-5 post-forward), and juniorJordan Wood (6-1 forward) are the only returning lettermen, and they're joined by juniorRyan Teel (6-0 point guard) and sophomore Chris Collins (5-11 guard) in most of Keener's starting lineups.

Sophomore Kelby Schimming (6-3 forward-post) is one of the team's top rebounders, and he and junior Luke Wooley (6-5 post) give the Mustangs additional firepower under the boards.

Juniors Quinton Mertz (6-1), Michael Montalvo (5-10) and Steven Auzenne (6-2), and sophomore Lane Griffon (6-1) rotate in as guards, and along with several teammates, are learning the varsity game on the go.

We're young and inexperienced, and that usually means there will be mistakes that carry over to other parts of the game," Keener said, "and against a lot of teams, including some right in our own district, a couple or three mistakes can quickly lead to a 10, 12 or 14-point run by an opponent.

"We have played very well at times, and now with more of a regular schedule, we'll be looking for even more consistency."

Friendswood plays at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6, at Santa Fe, is open on Tuesday, Jan. 10, and then closes the first round of district at Ball on Jan. 13 and at home against Texas City on Jan. 17.

"Heading into this first week of Tuesday-Friday games, you had six teams (Texas City, Ridge Point, Friendswood, La Marque, Santa Fe and Clear Falls) within one game of each other in the win column, and that's the way it's probably going to stay right up until the final night of district (Feb. 17)," Keener said. "If someone can knock off Manvel and/or Dawson, that would be huge for them, and the head-to-head matchups between the teams going for third and fourth are going to be big battles."