CLEBURNE —
The Cleburne Yellow Jacket boys basketball program is going through its growing pains at this point after a 68-40 loss to Waco High at Jeff D. Cody Gymnasium on Tuesday night. It was the Jackets’ fifth loss in a row and sends Cleburne to 2-6 in District 8-4A play.
Cleburne found itself down big from the start, as the Lions jumped out to a 12-0 lead early in the contest. Cleburne’s first point didn’t come until Ryan Kirk hit a pair of free throws with 3:16 remaining in the opening quarter. The Jackets’ first made field goal came 11 seconds into the second quarter on a Marc Murillo jumper at the top of the key.
“You just have to keep working on fundamentals,” Cleburne Coach Jimmy Littleton said. “All these kids are back another year. You just have to keep practicing hard and working hard. We didn’t compete tonight. We were outmanned in the paint, but you’ve got to do things to offset those kind of things. We didn’t do anything to offset their big guy. We didn’t follow the gameplan. They didn’t even start two of their best players. They didn’t even come in until the third quarter. With all of that said, I didn’t think we competed.”
Tuesday’s 28-point loss comes on the heels of a 69-25 loss to Waco University on Friday. After opening district play with two wins in three games, the Jackets have struggled mightily during the five-game losing streak.
Cleburne committed 19 turnovers and allowed 15 offensive rebounds. The Jackets only shot 23 percent from the floor while Waco shot 48 percent from the floor, to go along with 35 free throw attempts.
Waco’s 6-foot-8 Marques Smith was too big to handle for the undersized Jackets as he scored 13 points with five blocked shots and seven offensive rebounds in limited minutes.
Meanwhile, the Jackets struggles putting the ball in the basket continued.
“We don’t put the ball in the hole,” Littleton said. “If you’re going to give up 70 points per game and you only score 30 points, you’re not going to win any games. We can’t run up and down the court with anybody in the state of Texas. That’s not how we play. So when you start running up and down the court against guys who do it every single day, you’re always going to end up on the negative side of the stick.”
Marc Murillo and Eli Upchurch, two of the Jackets’ top options on offense, combined to shoot 5-of-25 from the floor. Murillo led Cleburne with four rebounds.
Al Baylor led Cleburne with 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 at the foul line. Baylor added two assists and three steals.
“It is going to be a very, very crucial spring, summer and fall for all of these returners and they’re going to have to change the way they are and they’re going to have to start playing the game of basketball the way it needs to be played,” Littleton said. “If we don’t become more fundamentally sound on both sides of the basketball in the next six to eight months before we start our season again, the results are going to be the same.
“Everybody’s going to have to give 100 percent in the spring, summer and fall, and they’re going to have to work hard and work together, and then we might see some results, but until then, we will not.”
The Jackets look to snap their losing streak when Cleburne plays at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Joshua.
Sports
Related Photos
-
Eli Upchurch (3) and the Yellow Jackets shot 23 percent from the floor in Cleburne’s loss to Waco High on Tuesday night. David Beans/Special to the CTR
Discussion
Waco High sends Jackets to fifth straight loss, 68-40
- Sports
-
-
Indians fall to Stephenville in regional quarters
Alvarado dropped games 2 and 3 today in their Class 3A regional quarterfinals at home to end the Indians' season.
-
Cleburne to face Wolfforth Frenship in regional semis
Cleburne and Wolfforth Frenship will square off in the Class 4A regional semifinals beginning Friday.
-
Stephenville takes game 2 from Alvarado
After Alvarado beat Stephenville in extra innings in game 1 on Friday night, the Yellowjackets responded with a 3-1 win in game 2 Saturday afternoon.
-
Four Lady Owls lead girls' superlative selections
The Liberty Hotel 2013 All-Johnson County girls soccer team was announced recently, and the District 15-4A champion Joshua Lady Owls led the way in superlative selections.
-
Spartans dominate superlative selections for boys
The Liberty Hotel 2013 All-Johnson County boys soccer team was announced recently, and the Burleson Centennial Spartans lead the way in superlative selections.
-
Spartans lead the way in first- and second-team selections
The 2013 All-Johnson County soccer boys and girls first and second teams.
-
Grandview defeats Sunnyvale to advance; Indians take game 1 from Stephenville
The Grandview Zebras defeated Sunnyvale, 2-1, in a one-game series on Friday night.
-
Jackets pull away late to sweep Byron Nelson
Behind a Tyler Fowler home run and a bases-clearing double by Casey Kirkland in the top of the seventh inning, Cleburne broke a 1-1 tie to record a 5-1 win and complete a two-game sweep of Trophy Club Byron Nelson in the Class 4A regional quarterfinals on Friday night at Arlington Heights.
-
Spartan signs to play soccer at UTPB
Burleson Centennial senior B.J. Rodrick signed with the University of Texas of the Permian Basin on Wednesday.
-
Jackets take game 1 against Byron Nelson, 6-3
Led by Tucker Nolen’s three RBIs and a strong final four innings by pitcher Dylan Schneider, the Cleburne Yellow Jackets opened the regional quarterfinals of Class 4A playoffs with a 6-3 win over Trophy Club Byron Nelson on Thursday night at Arlington Heights.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Indians fall to Stephenville in regional quarters
