However, none of those defeats mattered to the Wildcats on Friday night against rival Belton. From the beginning, it was simply Temple’s night.
Playing in front of a raucous, Wildcat Gym-record crowd of 1,853 fans, the Wildcats blitzed the district-leading Tigers early and often and limited Belton stars Matt Braeuer and Ramonce Taylor to a combined 15 points en route to a 73-46 victory.
Cameron Davis scored a game-high 22 points and Tony Troup had 12 and 10 rebounds for Temple (22-9 overall), which broke a three-game district losing streak against Belton and improved to 3-4 in 13-5A play to remain in contention for a playoff berth.
The Tigers (21-8), who were led by Jonathan Ferguson’s 13 points, dropped to 5-2 in league games and fell into a first-place tie with Bryan with three games remaining.
“Tonight was our night from the outset,” said Temple coach Bruce Etheridge, whose squad shot 22-for-27 (81.5 percent) from 2-point range and grabbed 34 rebounds to Belton’s 11.
“We played every possession at both ends of the floor and we set the tone early. With that effort, we can do special things in the second half (of district play).”
Belton coach Ed Braeuer, whose team beat visiting Temple 79-76 on Jan. 20, afterward said the Tigers were beaten mentally by the Wildcats’ hungry bunch.
“It was just one of those nights,” he said. “They were fired up because they’re pretty much in a must-win situation, and we weren’t at the top of our game mentally.
“They played really well, and we were way too impatient offensively and got killed in rebounding.”
The victory was particularly sweet for Troup, a senior who in football and basketball had lost five straight district games to Belton during the last two school years.
“There’s no words . . . it’s a great feeling to beat them,” he said. “There were no distractions for us tonight.”
Meanwhile, seniors Braeuer and Taylor seemed to be distracted and frustrated throughout the evening. Each averages more than 20 points per game for the season, but Braeuer scored only one basket and six points and Taylor had only nine points — three in the second half.
“The key was that in the first game we slowed down Braeuer and Taylor but let their role players beat us,” Troup said, “but in this game we stopped them and their role players. We played team solid defense.”
Temple jumped out to a 6-0 lead three minutes into the game on two close-in baskets by Jamaal Steamer and one by Russ Permenter. Taylor and Ferguson each hit a 3 as the Tigers pulled to within 10-8, but the Wildcats responded with vigor.
Davis hit two free throws and Troup made a running banker, then Davis completed a three-point play and drilled a 3 to set off the crowd and propel Temple to a 20-8 lead after one quarter.
