By Adam Kujawski, Staff Writer
The Porter Cowboys had two late possessions with a chance to tie or take the lead against the Weslaco High Panthers, but neither one proved fruitful.
The Panthers held on to defeat the Cowboys 37-34 during a non-district game Tuesday night at Porter.
With 24 seconds remaining, down by one point and coming out of a timeout, the Cowboys’ Eli Martinez drove the lane in an attempt to draw contact but failed to score, resulting in a turnover and an eventual pair of free throws by Weslaco High’s Jordan Young.
Porter attempted to shoot a 3 with seconds remaining, but a jump ball was called with the possession arrow favoring the Panthers.
“Weslaco did a good job, they deserve to win,” Porter coach Luis Garza said, “but I’m a little upset about (the officiating). I think we need to have a little more integrity in our association.
“I think that if you’re going to make calls, you’ve got to make them both ways,” Garza added. “And I honestly think that a little bit of integrity could have made a difference today.”
The Cowboys were in a position late to change the game in their favor, but not before falling behind early after allowing Weslaco High to score the first seven points. Porter didn’t score until midway through the first quarter on its way to a 14-5 deficit.
“We had a whole week off, so I think we were a little bit lethargic coming out of the gate,” Garza said. “I thought we did real good against a 6A program. I think once we got our feet under us and got more comfortable, we were able to play.”
Joel Garcia led a strong second quarter for the Cowboys, though, as they narrowed the Panthers’ lead to three points before halftime.
A steady third quarter defensively for Porter led to a tie at 28 at the start of the fourth. But the Panthers hit back-to-back 3s to start the final period, and Porter played catchup the remainder of the game.
“We’ve just got to keep our composure,” Weslaco High coach Gabe Valdez said. “I think anybody in the country, if they can maintain the basketball and get solid possessions, it’s going to work out for them in the end, and we’ve been able to do that.
“We’ve got to shoot the ball better, but a ‘W’ is a ‘W’ no matter how you get it.”
The Cowboys’ final point of the night came after Martinezhit the front end of a 1-and-1 with 2:30 to go in the game. By the time Porter regained possession, the Panthers had drained a good portion of the clock, leading to the eventual empty possessions late for the Cowboys.
Garcia led all scorers with 12 points and was the only player to tally double digits in the category. Weslaco High’s Eric Gonzalez was the next closest with eight points.
Porter’s next game will be a home contest against the Rivera Raiders at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and Weslaco High next plays Zapata at noon Thursday at Mercedes Junior High as part of the C.E. Vail Classic.
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.