By Michael Adams
madams@onthesidelinessports.com

District 26-6A began league play last week with a heavyweight bout right out of the gate – Westlake-Lake Travis. The Cavaliers defeated their rival 68-56 on the Chaps home court. It doesn’t look like Lake Travis will be tested until Dec. 20 when the Cavs host Dripping Springs. However, the start of 2024 will not be too kind to Lake Travis.

Bowie and Buda Johnson await. Johnson is 12-2 and picked up wins against Anderson (78-55) and Dripping Springs (61-52) last week. The Cavaliers will meet up with Johnson on Jan. 9 at the Cavalier Dome.

Upstart Bowie is off to a 10-0 start, but the Bulldogs dropped their district opener 44-36 to Dripping Springs. Bowie has a big game on Friday at home against Johnson. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Here’s what else you might have missed around the area:

Pay attention to the smaller classifications

The smaller classification districts won’t start district play for a few more weeks, but there are some breakout teams. Lago Vista (13-3) is one of the hottest teams in 4A. The Vikings to St. Stephens in the Lago Vista Northshore Classic championship game on Saturday. It was Lago Vista’s first lost in almost month.

Thrall (12-0), Thorndale (10-2) and Granger (7-3) have the three best records among the teams in District 27-2A. District play is a couple of weeks away, but if early season success is an indicator, this district should be fun to watch.

Is District 25-6A going to be mirror its football counterpart?

Remember how the football playoff picture was about as blurry as it could get in District 25-6A? The basketball district may end up that way. 7 of the 8 teams in the district all have winning records. Stony Point (15-0) leads the pack, but Westwood (13-5), Vandegrift (11-3) and Round Rock (10-4) are also off to hot starts to the 2023-24 season. But don’t overlook McNeil (9-6), Cedar Ridge (8-6) or Manor (7-4).

Metro Player of the Week

JoJo Moore, Rouse, senior guard

Rouse’s standout guard helped the Raiders to a 4-1 record at the South San Tournament in Schertz over the weekend. The Raiders lost to Stony Point 53-42 in the championship game, but picked up wins over Clemens, New Braunfels Canyon, San Antonio Southwest and Hutto. Moore averaged 18 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game in the tournament.

Call for Nominations

Each week, for the remainder of the regular season, On the Sidelines Sports will select a Player of the Week for both boys and girls basketball. Coaches are strongly encouraged to submit nominations by Saturday evening each week by emailing the player’s name, position, class and any pertinent stats for the week to madams@onthesidelinessports.com.

Austin-Metro Power 5s

Editor’s note: Records were taken from MaxPreps reporting.

Class 6A

Rank	team	record	lw
1	Stony Point	15-0	1
2	Lake Travis	14-1	2
3	Buda Johnson	12-2	3
4	Bowie	10-4	4
5	San Marcos	11-4	5

Class 5A

rank	team	record	lw
1	Rouse	11-5	1
2	Cedar Creek	10-4	2
3	East View	10-4	NR
4	Georgetown	10-5	NR
5	Elgin	9-3	4

Class 4A

Rank	team	record	LW
1	Thrall	12-0	2
2	Thorndale	10-2	1
3	Lago Vista	13-3	3
4	Gateway	9-7	4
5	Granger	7-3	NR

Game of the Week

Buda Johnson at Bowie, 8 p.m., Friday

Big time basketball will take place at Bowie High School Friday when the Johnson Jaguars face the Bulldogs. Johnson (12-2) is 9-1 in its last 10 games with the only loss being a 82-56 loss to Stony Point. The Jaguars won The Woodlands Tournament on Thanksgiving weekend with wins over Aldine, Houston Madison and The Woodlands. Bowie (10-4) has a bye on Tuesday while Johnson will host Austin High. Despite the loss to Dripping Springs on Dec. 5, Bowie has some impressive wins over Manor, Vandegrift and McNeil to its resume.

5 other games to watch

• Vandegrift at Stony Point, 7 p.m., Friday
• McNeil at Manor, 7 p.m., Friday
• Cedar Park at Cedar Creek, 7 p.m., Tuesday
• Liberty Hill at Georgetown, 7 p.m., Friday
• McCallum at Austin LASA, 8 p.m., Tuesday