By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
The Los Fresnos Falcons took a giant step toward securing a playoff berth Friday.
The Falcons’ ability to capitalize from the free-throw line late was the difference in a pivotal 44-37 road win over the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers.
With just less than four minutes remaining in the game, the Falcons (19-10, 9-3 in District 32-6A) trailed by one point at 32-31 when they reached the bonus.
After back-to-back fouls by Sebastian Caldera and Manny Perez, Roy Quesada and Andrew Carrizaleseach hit a pair of free throws to give Los Fresnos a three-point lead.
The Chargers’ Aaron Villarreal converted on a three-point play to tie the game at 37 with two minutes remaining, but Brownsville Veterans (17-12, 6-5) didn’t score for the remainder of the contest.
As the game neared its completion, the Falcons’ Hugo de la Cruz, Quesada and Johnny Gomez were successful on seven of their next eight shots from the charity stripe.
“We struggled offensively, we didn’t do a good job of hitting shots, but we hit some shots at the end and we hit some big free throws,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “That’s what won us the game at the end. We hit free throws when it mattered, and finally we got bounces to go our way.”
Brownsville Veterans netted its most points of the game during the first quarter after taking a 13-12 lead into the second.
The Chargers’ shot went cold after that, however, and they were successful on just five field goals on 19 attempts during the second and third quarters. The shooting woes allowed Los Fresnos to keep the game close before pulling away in the final minutes.
“We could not make shots, if you’re in your own gym and can’t make any shots, you’re not going to win,” Brownsville Veterans coach Larry Gibson said. “We scored 37 points in our own gym and that’s embarrassing. The way we shot the ball, I’m embarrassed. It wasn’t that great of defense,it was us not shooting the ball well. We didn’t step up and make shots, and they made shots. They wanted it more than we did.”
Quesada led all scorers with 14 points, and Gomez added 11 for the Falcons. Villarreal led the Chargers with 12 points, followed by Perez and Jeremiah Meyers, who each contributed nine.
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.