By Spencer Spilman

A young Lehman Lobo basketball team might have found an identity after playing four games in the Rebel Classic tournament, which was held Nov. 19-21. 

Under first year head coach Michael Whitten, Lehman finished the weekend with a 1-3 mark. 

The Lobos began the weekend by dropping their first two pool games against Crockett and Connally, which put them in the Bronze Bracket of the tournament.

But Lehman maintained a fast-pace, in-your-face persona with its full court press from start to finish, which was a theme throughout the tournament. 

The Lobos used that tactic as they got under the skin of the Rio Grande City Rattlers and bothered their ball-handlers from the opening tip. 

Steals led to easy Lehman layups; shots were falling from all over. Lobo guard Aaron Rodriguez scored 17 points en route to a dominant 61-35 win over the Rattlers.

The Lobos got to the free throw line 25 times against the Rattlers but struggled to knock down the freebies, making just 14. 

On Saturday, Lehman closed the tournament against a tough fundamental team in the Dripping Springs Tigers. But a late Lobo rally wasn’t enough as they fell 48-40. 

A nine o’clock start led to a somewhat sluggish early part of the game for Lehman. 

But the Tigers were a bit sluggish as well. After Lehman smothered them early on, Dripping Springs was able to wake up and get things going. 

Two players for Dripping Springs had over 10 points apiece and the veteran team avoided costly turnovers to the fast flying defense of the Lobos.

Even when Lehman forced a turnover, it struggled to hit its shots. 

Several long-range shots rattled in and out for Lehman. Meanwhile, Dripping Springs was a force inside, blocking shot after shot in the paint.

The Lobos were able to stay close at halftime but fell behind in the third quarter after being outscored 16-3.

Lehman continued to fly all over the court, trying to score points, but the shots just weren’t falling. 

Those shots started to fall for the Lobos’ John Rendon in the fourth quarter.

Rendon started taking the ball away from the Tigers and knocking down threes from way outside the line. 

Rendon led the team with 11 points and also led the team in steals in their game against Dripping Springs.

The team’s late attempt to get back in the game wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit they acquired in the third quarter. 

Whitten was proud of the way his team improved from the beginning of the tournament to the final game. 

While they still have things to iron out, he was happy with the way they played all weekend.

“I think our grasp of what we are trying to do has grown tremendously,” Whitten said. “I think our effort was outstanding and I think we have improved tremendously just from the beginning of the tournament.” 

Whitten knows it is early in the season, but he said he can see that the team shows promise and that he is excited for what is to come. It’s just a matter of his team gaining the confidence in themselves to succeed. 

“They just need more confidence shooting the ball. They are still trying to figure out what I think is a good shot and a bad shot. They are just a little hesitant,” said Whitten.