Temple wrestling held it down at the T-Town Takedown on Saturday.
Hosting a tournament for the first time in program history, the Wildcats and Tem-Cats defended their mats and posted team finishes of first and second place, respectively, that featured a combined six individual titles inside Wildcat Gym.
Just how important was Friday night’s outcome? The claps, chants and cheers spilling from Temple’s locker room afterward definitively answered that.
Coming off a disappointing one-point loss to Killeen Shoemaker, the Tem-Cats welcomed District 12-6A frontrunner Harker Heights into Wildcat Gym for what suddenly appeared to be a must-have victory for the hosts to close the first half of league play.
Temple demonstrated the loss earlier in the week was far enough in the rearview mirror from the get-go, using a fast start and defense down the stretch to down the Lady Knights 39-37.
Temple wrestling head coach Deryl Clark turned toward assistant John Matthews and said, “Usually, when I say I’m going to do it, I’m pretty good about doing it.”
To which Matthews replied in agreement, “We’re going to get it done.”
The latest result of Clark’s determination for a program that he jump-started and is in just its fourth season is Saturday’s T-Town Takedown, the first tournament hosted by Temple wrestling.
Temple head coach Joey Martin lifted his right hand and moved his index finger and thumb about as close as possible without having them touch.
“We are right there. We’re right there. We just haven’t been over the hump,” Martin said.
For the second consecutive District 12-6A outing, the Wildcats had an opponent in their sights late in the proceedings after trailing by double digits but couldn’t complete the comeback, falling Tuesday night to Killeen Shoemaker, 62-54, at Wildcat Gym.
Round Rock McNeil controlled the pace throughout, using four first-half goals to gain a commanding early edge in an eventual 6-0 win over Temple in the Tem-Cats’ home opener Tuesday night.
Temple’s uphill climb offensively didn’t make it any easier against Bryan. Yet the Wildcats still had a chance late in Friday’s District 12-6A contest to escape an up-and-down performance with a victory.
The Temple Kickoff Classic is an early season staple. This year’s three-day tournament, though, had a unique feel for the host Wildcats because of the opportunity to show off their recently constructed on-campus soccer complex.
They did so in winning fashion on Day 1 of the tournament Thursday night, with the temperature in the low 30s to boot.
BELTON — With the outcome very much up for grabs down the stretch Tuesday night, Temple head coach Joey Martin implored the Wildcats to simply do what they do in practice.
Accordingly, with a vulnerable one-point lead on the road against Belton and 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Temple executed an inbounds play that it has regularly worked on when no one else is around.
Nyteria Colbert scored all but two of her game-high 16 points in the second half, helping Temple to a 38-35 comeback win over rival Belton in a District 12-6A game Tuesday night at Wildcat Gym.
HEWITT – Daron Washington scored all of his team-high 14 points in the first half, including a half-court buzzer beater to close the second quarter, and Hewitt Midway defeated Temple 59-42 on Tuesday night in a gold bracket semifinal at the 60th annual MT Rice Tournament.
COPPERAS COVE — Maurice Henry scored eight of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, including back-to-back slam dunks to start the period with a big momentum swing, and Copperas Cove came back to earn a 66-58 win over Temple in the teams’ District 12-6A opener Tuesday afternoon at Bulldawg Gym.
Smithson Valley built a double-digit lead 5 minutes into Saturday’s non-district game against Temple and made the early buffer stick in a 70-55 victory at Wildcat Gym.
Temple scored enough points off turnovers to stay in the game Friday night, but it was four points that Copperas Cove netted off a pair of late steals that proved the difference in a 46-39 Lady Bulldawgs’ win in District 12-6A action at Wildcat Gym.
Temple head coach RaShonta LeBlanc expects a close game each time her team plays a District 12-6A opponent. In that sense, Tuesday night’s league tilt with Killeen Ellison at Wildcat Gym didn’t disappoint.
KILLEEN — If Friday night is any indication of how District 12-6A is going to go this season – buckle up.
The University Interscholastic League on Wednesday released classification cutoffs and preliminary enrollment numbers for the upcoming 2022-24 realignment, settling some long-speculated theories about the future of local athletic programs for the next two seasons.
Nyteria Colbert will dive to the floor to scramble and scrap for a loose ball. She’ll closely guard opponents — like, in-their-business close — up and down the court, and she’ll disrupt passing lanes, too.
Back-to-back District 12-6A champion Temple had three players garner superlative honors among the league’s awards, which were announced earlier this week.
Temple got 26 points from Nyteria Colbert and led from start to finish, flustering Bryan Rudder with an early full-court press en route to a commanding 56-34 win in non-district action Tuesday afternoon at Wildcat Gym.
