Rouse rides defense in 19-5A win
Raiders shut down Cedar Park for 21st victory of season.
Run-and-gun went out the gym window Tuesday night at Cedar Park High School, where Rouse’s boys basketball team — the District 19-5A leader — showed it can win ugly in a 44-37 victory.
As shots kept missing the mark and the seconds ticked away with each methodical half-court possession, the Raiders (21-6, 10-0) focused most of their attention on the defensive end. They came within seven seconds of a fourth-quarter shutout of Cedar Park (14-9, 9-3).
“It shows a lot of versatility,” Rouse senior Trevor Berry said. “We can slow it down, set an offense and score in the paint, or we can play fast, get outside shots and get to the basket.”
Rouse came in averaging 62.8 points per game but managed only 19 in the first half as Cedar Park slowed the tempo. The Raiders trailed by five points at halftime after being badly outrebounded.
At halftime, the Timberwolves’ Karson Cater led all scorers with 10 points, including a 3-pointer from the right wing that capped a 7-0 second-quarter run.
In the second half, Berry face-guarded Cater and held him to six points, and the Raiders posted a 15-12 second-half edge in rebounding.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Raiders trailed 34-33, and a steal by Berry, leading to a fast-break layup by Carter McMahan, put them ahead 35-34 with 6:30 to play.
By the time Tanner Radke threw in a desperation 3-pointer for Cedar Park’s first points of the final quarter, the Raiders had locked up another victory.
Berry finished with a game-high 17 points, and McMahan added 11 points and eight rebounds. Westlake 86, Vandegrift 59: With college coaches Roy Williams of North Carolina and Scott Drew of Baylor looking on, state-ranked Westlake rolled to victory in a District 25-6A contest that included two of the country’s highest-ranked recruits.
Will Baker, a 6-foot-10 junior rated as the No. 3 player in Texas in the 2019 class by 247Sports, scored 26 points for Westlake, ranked second in the latest Class 6A state poll released by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. The Chaparrals (26-3) improved to 7-0 in district play.
Greg Brown, a 6-7 sophomore listed as the secondbest 2020 recruit in the state by 247Sports, tallied a gamehigh 27 points for Vandegrift (20-9, 3-4), but the Vipers sank just a trio of 3-pointers and struggled to find offense beyond Brown.
Drew was on hand in part to watch Westlake forward Matthew Mayer, a 6-7 forward and recent Baylor signee. Mayer scored the Chaparrals’ first eight points and finished with 19. Teammate Brock Cunningham, a 6-7 senior signed by Texas, added 26 points and six blocks.
GIRLS
Hendrickson 54, Cedar Ridge 44: Coach Norma Sierra recorded her 400th career victory as the Hawks beat visiting Cedar Ridge to stay atop the District 13-6A standings.
Hendrickson (25-6, 8-1) posted its seventh consecutive victory as Sierra picked up her 83rd win with the Hawks. Sierra, who led Hutto’s girls teams to five straight playoff berths, became Hendrickson’s head coach before the 2013-14 season.
The Hawks pressured Cedar Ridge (22-7, 3-5) and stifled the Raiders for the second time this season. Cedar Ridge has averaged more than 60 points per game this season, but the Raiders have totaled only 78 in two losses to Hendrickson.
Junior forward Kailey Lacy led Hendrickson with 17 points, and Hawks junior guard Mikayla Woods added 14 points and 10 rebounds.