Cavs defeat Johnson in district showdown
LAKEWAY — Lake Travis did everything right Tuesday.
Hosting Johnson in a battle of teams entering the contest atop District 26-6A with 6-0 records in the Austin area boys basketball game of the year to date, the Cavs were nearly flawless in a 73-57 dismantling of the Jaguars at Lake Travis High School.
Whether it was a relentless man-toman halfcourt defense or ball movement and shooting on offense, the Cavs did about anything you could expect — and more.
“When you look at our schedule, we played one of the toughest (nondistrict) in the state to get ready for games like this,” said Lake Travis coach Brandon Shaver, who is in his first year leading the program. “We figured our height was something that we could take advantage of, and I just love our guys defensively. … We challenge them to where even if a team scouts us, we try to bring a pressure defensively that you can’t emulate in practice.”
What’s most impressive about the Cavs’ performance is they did it without junior wing Hudson Greer — their leading scorer who has multiple Division I scholarship offers — who suffered an injury less than a minute into the game. No matter.
Lake Travis simply ran out to a 20-2 lead and though Johnson hung around — mostly thanks to a brilliant performance from Sam McKinney, who finished with a game-high 24 points — it never got closer than 11 the rest of the way while the Cavs pushed their lead to as high as 21.
Ethan Birchall and 6-foot-8 Kyle Kihlberg — who would start for most of the teams around Austin — provided valuable minutes off the bench, and both Adrian Mathis (21 points) and Jayden Thomas (15 points) were phenomenal.
“What we’ve proven this year is that we’re not one player,” Shaver said. “And we’re deep. We’ve dealt with an injury earlier this year, and our guys weren’t going to tuck their tails. It’s just fun watching this group and coaching this group.”
In a battle between teams ranked in the top four of the Statesman’s latest power 15 poll, Johnson came into the game fresh off an impressive 54-52 road win over Westlake on Friday.
But Lake Travis never trailed. Hunter Duran hit a 3-pointer, Greer had a dunk prior to his injury and Mathis, Chas Biegel and Thomas all had baskets as the Cavs roared out of the gate.
And while their offense was good, it was the defense that was most impressive.
Lake Travis (22-3, 7-0) forced three turnovers in the first two minutes and seven in the first quarter as Johnson struggled with the Cavs’ aggressive, inyour-face style.
“It was the energy that spurred us,” Duran said. “(Shaver) told us before the game that in order to get offense, we have to start on defense. We came with that energy and tried to get as many stops and rebounds.”
When Kihlberg hit a shot in the lane to put the Cavs ahead by 18 late in the first quarter, the game strangely felt over.
The large Johnson crowd that attended never had a chance to be a factor, and when the Jaguars (19-5, 6-1) got within 26-15 midway through the second quarter, Lake Travis responded with a 13-4 run punctuated by Thomas’ breakaway dunk.
“We came out firing, and I think everyone communicated well and rotated where they needed to,” Biegel said. “We trust everyone on this team to do the right thing, but we can also make something happen from nothing. Our ability to create is amazing.”
Biegel joined Mathis and Thomas in double figures with 10 points for the Cavs, who have another showdown when they host Westlake in a week to start the district’s second round-robin.
But after Tuesday, there’s no doubt the Cavs control their own destiny.