By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Lopez coach Neil Schuster wanted his team depth to improve this season, and the Lobos showed signs of growth against PSJA Memorial on Friday.
The Lobos (5-2) beat PSJA Memorial 58-30 with the usual high-volume scoring from the starting five and a productive first half from the bench.
“I was really happy with the way my bench played,” Schuster said. “The first group got in foul trouble really early on, and three of my big contributors got into foul trouble in the first quarter. The bench came in, and they’re guys who usually don’t get a lot of minutes. Those kids came in and took a lot of pride in their defense and really busted it (out there). I was really happy for them, but most importantly I was proud of them.”
Darren Gonzalez led Lopez with 20 points and six rebounds, and he helped out on defense with three steals. Julio Jimenez and Edgar Amaro each scored eight points, with Amaro adding two three-point buckets during the second quarter.
The Lobos outrebounded PSJA Memorial 21-17 even though the Wolverines had a height advantage in the paint.
“That’s something we’ve went over the last couple of days, being tougher on the defensive glass,” Schuster said. “We had issues with that because we haven’t had size here the last couple of years. We were outrebounded the majority of the games we played last year.
“In the offseason and now in season, that’s something we focus on because that’s something that really hurt us last year. I think this year, the kids are taking a lot of pride in (their rebounding).”
Lopez’s offense started hot and scored 14 points during the first quarter to lead 14-5 over the Wolverines. But some of the Lobos racked up fouls early, leaving it up to the bench to keep the momentum.
And Lopez’s second team didn’t disappoint. Mike Sanchez scored seven points off the bench in the second quarter and Luis Suarez added another four points for the second team to help extend the lead to 31-14 at halftime.
The game featured strong defensive play from Lopez during the first half, which held PSJA Memorial to five points in the first quarter and nine points in the second quarter.
“I thought we played good defense,” Sanchez said. “It helped us get buckets. Offensively, we struggled, but we came out (of the game) good. Defensively, we made up for it.”
Adrian Rosales led PSJA Memorial with nine points. Joey Castillo helped the Wolverines on the defensive side with four rebounds, three blocks and two steals in addition to scoring six points.
PJSA Memorial’s offense started showing signs of life during the third quarter by scoring 14 points, but Gonzalez’s 11-point, two-steal effort kept the Wolverines from gaining enough momentum to make a run at the lead.
Lopez ended the third quarter with a 46-28 lead over PSJA Memorial.
PSJA Memorial coach Eric Steinbrunner declined to comment.
Joshua McKinney writes for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @joshuabvherald.