By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
Second-half adjustments by the No. 21 St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds allowed them to start TAPPS district play on the right foot.
Following a slim 28-23 lead after the third quarter, SJA (16-6, 1-0 in district) scored 18 points during the fourth to earn a 46-33 victory over the San Antonio St. Anthony Yellow Jackets (7-12, 0-1) on Saturday at home.
“Our passing started working there in the second half,” St. Joseph coach Sam Lucio said. “We were shooting too many 3s in the first half. I told (the team), ‘Weneed to start moving the defense side to side and penetrating the gaps.’ I think we did a pretty good job of that.”
The Bloodhounds started slow, hitting a 3-pointer on their opening possession and not tallying another point until the 1:47 mark in the first quarter.
After falling behind 9-5 at the end of the first, Sean Cantu-Rudder, Kai Money and Jorge Villarreal combined for eight points on three baskets in just more than one minute early in the second.
St. Joseph managed just eight points during the third quarter but still managed to pull ahead on the scoreboard. St. Anthony scored only seven points after a 0-for-7 stretch from the field over a span of nearly seven minutes.
The scoring opened up for the Bloodhounds during the final quarter, though. Sparked by a Villarreal 3-pointer, SJA made six of 11 field goals and hit 5 of 6 from the free throw line.
The 10 points the Yellow Jackets scored during the fourth were their most of any quarter, but it wasn’t enough to outpace the Bloodhounds.
“We have a long season,” St. Anthony’s coach Kevin Smisek said. “District is not won or lost the first game of the year.
“We talk to our guys all the time about winning on the road and that you really have to be 10 to 12 points better to eke out a two-point win. St. Josephis a tough place to win. We had our chances but we just didn’t make the most of it.”
Villarreal led the team with eight fourth-quarter points and 16 points overall. Cantu-Rudder was the game’s second-leading scorer with 13 points. Ricardo Valadez led the Yellow Jackets with 11.
“It’s very big (to win the first district game) because we’re in a very good district, so we have to take care of all our chances,” Lucio said, “I told the guys we have six opportunities in district and we have to take advantage of every single one.”
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.