2/28/2018 basketball Edit

Mohn and Wilson help Lake Travis outlast Steele to clinch regional berth

Lyndon Cook • TexasHoops

Recruiting Analyst

CANYON LAKE - Bennett Mohn picked a great time to catch fire for Lake Travis in Tuesday night's regional quarterfinal against No.8 ranked Cibolo Steele. After a scrappy first half, the 2019 wing came out firing with 3 threes in the 3rd quarter to give the Cavs an 8-point lead going to the 4th. And when his team needed him to deliver again, Mohn canned 6 straight free throws to ice the game in the final minute.

Steele did not go quietly into the night, though. Down 50-39 in the final quarter, Steele stepped up defensively and started going inside to Gerald Liddell, sparking a 10-0 run for the Knights that cut the deficit to a single point with a minute to play. Lake Travis took care of the ball and never gave Steele a chance to take the lead, with a combination of Mohn and Garrett Wilson going 8-8 from the stripe to see out the game.

While Mohn stepped up with his scoring to lead his team with 20, it was the combination of Wilson and DJ Thorpe that freed him for open looks. Wilson was borderline unstoppable on the drive all night, posting 18 points to go with several assists. Thorpe was his usual bruising self under the rim and commanded a double team at all times in the block to score 11.

Steele hung tough for the entire game, with Jayden Martinez providing the answer for whenever Lake Travis would try to go on a run. The New Hampshire-bound forward made some huge momentum plays for his team including 3 makes from deep in the 3rd quarter to keep his team in it. Texas signee Liddell was held to just 3 field goals in the game, but did plenty of damage at the line to add 14 points to Martinez's game high 21.

For Lake Travis, a date with district foe Austin Westlake (who escaped Wagner 58-57 Tuesday) in the regional final seems inevitable. Both teams will have to face the best of district 29 in South San and Laredo Alexander to make it to Saturday, but round 3 of Austin's premier rivalry looks to be a lock, with the winner advancing to the state tournament.