By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
The Los Fresnos Falcons took advantage of poor shooting by the Porter Cowboys and posted an impressive 58-32 win to open the BISD Classic boys varsity tournament Thursday night at Porter.
Both sides started the game slow, but while Los Fresnos eventually got into a groove, the Cowboys struggled to find the bottom of the net, hitting just one shot on eight attempts during the first quarter.
“We just couldn’t buy a basket,” Porter coach Luis Garza said. “When we get opportunities to hit layups and we don’t capitalize on those, we’re not going to win games.
“I’m really disappointed in this group. We’ve got a couple of seniors that shouldn’t be having those problems. I think it’s something to be concerned about. We need to work on our shooting at practice.”
Ahead 6-5, the Falcons’ Hugo De La Cruz completed an and-1 as well as an additional free throw to close out the first quarter. He then hit a shot to open the second quarter, putting his team in front 12-5.
De La Cruz had 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds to go with two steals. Falcons coach Marco Hinojosa was impressed with the performance, but he has come to expect it.
“I expect a lot from (De La Cruz),” he said. “He’s a leader. If he goes, we go. He showed up and played basketball today, and that’s one of the reasons we won.”
The barrage didn’t stop, and by the time Porter made its first basket of the second quarter, the Cowboys were behind 16-7 with 4:23 remaining in the half.
The Falcons scored 10 straight points to close the half, including a 3-pointer by Lupe Aldrighetti at the buzzer.
The Cowboys trailed 29-14 at halftime, shooting just 4 for 20 during that time.
“We were up by 15 at the half, and I just told the kids to keep on defending,” Hinojosa said, “and they defended very well in the second half.”
The rhythm continued for Los Fresnos when Johnny Gomez scored 7 points midway through the third quarter, fueling an 18-4 run that included six points by De La Cruz and five points by Aldrighetti.
Poor shooting by Porter resulted in futile comeback attempts. The Cowboys scored just eight fourth-quarter points, sprinkling in baskets periodically but failing to put together enough positive stretches due to the Falcons’ consistent scoring and strong defense.
Gomez tied De La Cruz for the points lead with 17, and Aldrighetti added 16. Jesus Garcia led the Cowboys with nine points
Each team will face Kingsvilletoday before being seeded into a bracket for Saturday.
“We can only control what we can control, and that’s our defensive end,” Hinojosa said. “We’ll let the offense take care of itself. If we can control our defensive effort, I think we’ll be in the game.”
Los Fresnos will face Kingsvilleat 11:30 a.m., and Porter will get its turn at 4:30 p.m. Both games will be held at Pace.
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.