How about Belton standouts Matt Braeuer and Ramonce Taylor?
Temple coach Bruce Etheridge certainly does.
“Outstanding competitors,” said Etheridge, whose Temple squad faces Belton at 7:30 tonight at Tiger Gym. “They were some of Central Texas’ best players and they provided a lot of excitement for this area. It seems like such a long time ago when you have so many losses in between.”
Just four years ago, Braeuer scored 21 points and Taylor added 15 as the Tigers held off the Wildcats for an entertaining 79-76 home victory - a couple of weeks before Davis scored 22 points to help Temple overwhelm Belton 73-46.
During that season, Temple and Belton won a combined 52 games, finished tied with three other schools for the district’s best record, and advanced to the Class 5A Region II quarterfinals.
Oh, how times have changed.
Beginning with their 27-point victory in 2004, the Wildcats (8-16 overall, 0-5 in 13-5A) have turned this Bell County rivalry into a one-sided affair, winning seven straight games by an average of 25 points.
In fact, since 2004 the Tigers (9-15, 0-5) have won just three district games and have lost 33 straight dating back to their win over Copperas Cove in 2005.
Temple hasn’t fared much better the past two seasons.
Excluding the Wildcats’ two wins over Belton last season, Temple has dropped its last 15 district contests.
Similar to last year’s first meeting, both schools will be seeking their first district victory.
According to both coaches, turning their seasons around heading into the second half of district play is the primary objective.
“The main thing is not so much the importance of beating Temple,” first-year Belton coach John Osborn said. “It’s more the importance of playing with confidence and getting some confidence with district starting over the next week.
“We’re just looking to get back to playing the solid basketball that we were playing earlier in the year.”
Added Etheridge: “We’re trying to get over the hump and I’m sure Coach Osborn feels the same way.”
Etheridge thinks his team has let winnable games against Bryan and Harker Heights slip away in the last week. A 14-4 third-quarter run lifted Bryan to an 84-72 victory, then late turnovers prevented any chance of the Wildcats beating Heights on Tuesday.
The Tigers started the season by winning nine of their first 21 games, including the consolation championship at Gatesville’s holiday tournament. The nine wins match their highest total since 2004.
Despite the early success, Belton was unable to carry any of the momentum into district play.
After losing 63-55 to Killeen Shoemaker in the district opener, the Tigers haven’t come within 20 points against the other four opponents.
“We’ve been giving up a lot of penetration,” said Osborn, whose team allowed a season-high 96 points to College Station A&M Consolidated on Tuesday.
“The main thing is blocking out and going to the boards. I always tell them, ‘If you can control the boards, you can control the game.’ We also must pay some attention to D.J. Wright and make sure he doesn’t get going on the 3-point line.”
Etheridge hopes Wright and his sophomore trio of Eric Valdez, Lache Seastrunk and Bron Etheridge explodes on offense and produces a much-needed victory.
“It would certainly heal a lot of our wounds,” Etheridge said. “It should be an exciting game and I hope the kids lay it all out on the court.”
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
