By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
After a passive first half, Brownsville Veterans Memorial, led by Aaron Villarreal, came out more aggressive against Porter.
Villarreal led the way for the Chargers with 18 points — 10 from the charity stripe — and eight rebounds to help his team to a 69-49 win over the Cowboys in a District 32-5A game Tuesday at Brownsville Veterans.
“Coach told us at halftime to be more aggressive, do the little things,” he said. “I provided more energy to my team and it carried over to them.”
Led by the senior who was 10 of 10 from the foul line, the Chargers hit 26 of 33 free throws compared to 6 of 21 for the Cowboys.
The win keeps the Class 5A #6 ranked Brownsville Veterans (28-3 overall, 10-0 in District 32-5A) unbeaten in district and a step toward a district title. The loss drops Porter to 4-6 in district play.
It wasn’t pretty though, especially early on. Brownsville Veterans coach Larry Gibson wasn’t happy with his team’s performance.
“I’m very disappointed,” he said. “We cannot go into the playoffs playing like this, we have to play better. I thought Porter played good, had a good game plan, but we didn’t play very well (Tuesday).
“It’s not the type of ball a playoff team should play.”
The Chargers led 30-21 at the break, as the Cowboys kept coming at them in the first half.
After a short 3-0 run to start the third quarter, Brownsville Veterans used a more aggressive offense to get to the line and increase its lead. Villarreal hit 8 of 8 from the line and the Chargers opened up a 17-point lead after three.
The teams traded buckets in the fourth quarter, and a 3 by Alex Marquez gave Brownsville Veterans a 54-37 advantage and then Erick Saldana hit a pair of free throws to extend the edge to 20 points midway through the final quarter. Porter’s Rey Martinez hit a pair of 3s and another jumper to try to rally his team, but the Chargers hit some more free throws down the stretch — they were 18 of 24 in the second half — to keep the Cowboys at bay in the district win.
Early in the first quarter, Brownsville Veterans took control on an 11-0 run that was started by a 3 by Kevin Gomez and led by six. In the second, the Chargers held off the Cowboys, but wasn’t easy as Martinez and Luis Garza II each got back-to-back buckets for Porter to keep it close before halftime.
Marquez finished with 16 points and six rebounds and Damian Maldonado had a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards for the Chargers.
Garza II led Porter with 13 points, including 11 before halftime and seven rebounds and Martinez finished with 12, including a pair of 3s in the second half for the Cowboys.
After staying close before halftime, Porter couldn’t hit free throws or get the offense going in the second half.
“Our free throws didn’t help us,” Porter coach Luis Garza said. “The pressure might have got to us. We had some foul trouble as well. Our biggest handicap is our offense, we go in droughts without hitting buckets, layups.
“We can’t put the ball in the basket and that’s been our problem all year.”
With four games left in the regular season, Gibson wants his team to start playing like there’s no tomorrow so they’re ready for the postseason.
“You can’t have that attitude in the playoffs because every game counts. You lose, you go home,” he said. “We have to get that mentality right now. We need to clean things up. We have to come out every night and be ready to play.”
BROWNSVILLE VETERANS 76, PORTER 20
In the girls game, Brownsville Veterans opened the game with a 7-0 run and raced out to a 32-5 lead in the opening quarter and never looked back against Porter.
Jordan Rudd led the Lady Chargers with 23 points, 20 of those came in a dominant first half, as the Cowgirls — missing a few starters due to injury, including their leading scorer — couldn’t keep up offensively. The senior point guard also had five rebounds, three assists and four steals.
“I was just catching up,” Rudd said of her scoring output. “I’m not scoring as much lately, but I’m getting a lot of assists, just working on my all-around game.”
Rudd hit a 3 and added a runner to open the game and Brownsville Veterans rattled off a few more surges during the first quarter to begin with a big lead. Rudd finished with 11 points and Hannah Meyers added eight points after the first for the Lady Chargers who got contributions from just about everyone.
The Lady Chargers used their suffocating defense to force turnovers and scored several points in transition in the second quarter to add to their lead and took a 50-11 edge at the break.
“We were trying to focus on our defense,” Brownsville Veterans coach Valentin Paz said. “Every game we’re playing man-to-man because eventually we’re going to need it in the playoffs. So we using these last games to fine tune some things and correct others.”
The Lady Chargers opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run courtesy of four steals and increased their lead to 60-11. Porter stopped its drought with a bucket by Aliah Quiroz, but didn’t stop the bleeding as Brownsville Veterans continued to be too strong for the Cowgirls in the final quarter.
Porter (3-9 in District 32-5A) never recovered in the second half and Brownsville Veterans (12-0) continued its unbeaten streak through district and inched its way toward a district title with just two games to go.
Meyers finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, Dani Diaz had 12 points, a pair of assists and six steals and Lizzie Garza added nine points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals for the Lady Chargers.
Vanessa Hernandez led Porter with seven points and three rebounds and Ashley Peña added six points, including a 3-pointer for the Cowgirls.
With a few injuries this year to some of its more experienced players, Porter coach Tony Saavedra is trying to get a jump on next season.
“We’re looking at next year and the year after … these girls are getting a lot of varsity experience,” he said. “The only way the girls are going to learn how to play is on the court during game time.
“Every day I believe we’re getting better. The future is bright.”
For Brownsville Veterans, its chemistry has everyone on the same page, which could be especially important heading to the postseason.
“Everyone is sharing the ball, but we missed a couple layups because of unselfishness,” Paz said. “They are really looking for each other to score and I’m happy with that.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.