BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Rio Grande City senior center Rodrigo Nuñez has been too much for most of his opponents to handle this year, and on Monday, he taught Edcouch-Elsa the same lesson.
Nuñez finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks as Rio Grande City defeated Edcouch-Elsa 50-34 in a bi-district playoff game.
“It’s my first playoff game,” he said. “I knew it was going to mean a lot to me, and I hadn’t played so good the last couple games. So I was like, ‘I have to come in and show up today.’”
RGC opened up an 8-0 lead to start the game, and Nuñez had eight of the Rattlers’ first 10 points.
“Those dunks, they get us get fired up,” sophomore guard Aaron Marroquin said. “And the fans, they were loud tonight. Every time the fans are there like that, we are playing for them.”
RGC coach Juan Aldape said he thinks the Rattlers’ playoff win is the team’s first in about 40 years.
“It means a lot to us,” Marroquin said. “We are making history.”
Nuñez summarized the plan of attack for the Rattlers.
“Defense,” the 6-foot-8 athletic big man said. “If we don’t play good defense, we won’t be able to score. Our defense is where we get a lot of points — fast-break points.”
That was the case Monday, as Rio Grande City forced turnovers all night. And when the Rattlers got the ball, they always had a player running alone toward the opposite basket.
“Sometimes (Nuñez) has been the one taking off before the rebound to get that dunk,” Aldape said. “It gets the team going, so I allow once or twice for him to do that.”
Monday was different, though. Nuñez wasn’t worried about getting rolling. He played the role of quarterback looking for receivers streaking down the court. He connected on several home-run passes to his teammates, leading to easy layups. If the basket wasn’t open, the Rattlers were careful to pull back and protect the possession.
Nuñez brought his game to a new level in several areas on Monday.
“He tends to step up in the big games, and he did today, man,” Aldape said. “Offensively, defensively, getting the guys together when things weren’t going our way. He got the guys together. He brought that leadership today. I have to hand it to him.”
Nuñez knew coming in that this was his first and last chance to make an impression in the postseason, and he used that as fuel against Edcouch-Elsa.
He even brought his dunks to the next level. During the second quarter, just after Edcouch-Elsa had weathered the early storm and pulled to within six points, RGC senior guard Izrael Lambert came up with a steal. He got his eyes up court and saw Nuñez all alone under the rim. Lambert launched a perfect pass, and Nuñez took a second to gather before going up for a thunderous one-handed dunk.
“I thought he was going to bring the backboard down,” Aldape said with a big grin. “He made the board rattle, so it made some noise. … That is one of the most powerful ones I have seen (from him).”
“I think they missed a couple of foul calls, so I was pretty mad about that,” Nuñez said.
RGC’s defense set up a lot of quick buckets, and the scoring was evenly dispersed among the eight players who suited up.
Junior guard Jaime Covarrubias had four points, eight rebounds, four steals and six assists. Lambert finished with six points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Sophomore guard Aaron Marroquin was in a good rhythm to start the game. He added to Nuñez’s hot start, hitting a dagger that drew a timeout.
But just three minutes into the game, Marroquin hurt his ankle on an offensive possession. The other nine players went back to the opposite end while Marroquin was down on the floor in pain.
“It’s just a sprain,” Marroquin said. “I should be good to play by Friday. It’s day to day. I just have to ice it up in the morning. I should be good.”
Marroquin had his ankle taped and showed the doctor he was well enough to get back in. He returned to the action at the start of the second quarter and finished with six points and four steals.
“He’s a strong kid,” Aldape said. “He’s not going to let a minor tweak on his ankle stop him. I don’t know how bad it was, but he was fighting through it. You could see a little limp. But he’s a tough kid, man.”
After the game, Marroquin was not very mobile, limping around the gym for the postgame festivities.
Edcouch-Elsa coach Lalo Rios called a timeout after the 8-0 start by RGC, pulling his starters in favor of a fresh five. He then walked over to his starters and said: “You guys did everything wrong. Everything.”
Edcouch-Elsa righted the ship after that, pulling to within four points at 16-12 with just under a minute left in the first quarter. But, by halftime, RGC had doubled up E-E, 32-16.
Edcouch-Elsa made 170 3-point field goals this year. On Monday, the Yellow Jackets hit just two.
Senior Dustin Rodriguez scored 13 points for E-E. Junior Marcos Escobar and senior Jeremiah Caballero each added six.
“Lalo brought that heat that he brings,” Aldape said. “We were able to break that press and get a few easy baskets. But they played tough.”
Rio will face the winner of Harlandale and Flour Bluff. Those two face off at 6:30 tonight at Jourdanton High School, and the Rattlers will be making the trip.
“I want to give these guys the best opportunity to get the W,” Aldape said. “We are going scouting. … Tonight is another chapter in the book, but our story isn’t over yet.”