NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — McAllen Rowe started hot and finished on fire against rival McAllen High during both teams’ district opener at McHi on Saturday afternoon.
Even though the Warriors weren’t firing on all cylinders, they found another level when necessary to defeat the Bulldogs, 55-46.
“Against McHi it’s always a battle, they’re our rival school,” Rowe senior Adrian Salinas said. “But we knew they were on a losing streak. If we jumped on them early we could have had it but they made a run. Then we made our run at the end of the fourth quarter and that helped us pull out the game.”
Salinas was the hot hand from behind the arc that made sure the Bulldogs didn’t steal the game late. Even though Rowe never trailed, McHi cut the deficit to one point just after halftime and to within one possession in the fourth quarter.
Salinas, who had his senior football season cut short due to broken ribs, nailed two fourth-quarter threes to keep the Warriors comfortably ahead. He finished with 12 points, which all came from nearly the same spot behind the 3-point line.
“Coach really counted on me to make those threes,” Salinas said. “(We were) just moving the ball around, making sure I don’t panic. Shooting from my spots where I’m capable of shooting and just trusting.”
Rowe started the game on a 9-0 run. Darrin Everage had four of his 10 points right off the bat and fellow big man John Galan led all scorers with 14 points.
The junior Galan explained the importance of a low-post presence.
“Being in the post, it opens up spots for everyone else, especially the guards, so I can pass it out,” Galan said. “It gives me the confidence to make those shots.”
While sporting the No. 35 jersey as made famous by lanky Golden State Former Kevin Durant, Galan channeled his idol with multiple shots from the high key.
“In practice, I always go for mid-range (shots), not quite that many threes but I go to the mid-range,” Galan said. “You want to have more shots on the outside so you have more versatility as a shooter.”
All of Rowe’s points came from their starting five, Rowe’s Mark Medrano had nine points and was the only Warrior point-scorer with fewer than double digits.
McHi also benefited from a balanced attack. Jackson Helmcamp led his team with 11 points, while Bryan Argil added 10 and Dylan Suarez had eight. Jaden Conrow, who was guarded by Rowe’s Galan, and Matthew Ibarra both finished with seven.
Veteran Warriors coach Jose Yebra said that the team’s slowdown after controlling the first quarter by a score of 15-6 was a product of McHi fixing some holes.
“I think both teams were playing hard defense,” Yebra said. “We started off hitting the shots and playing well but they adjusted on their defensive side. We kind of struggled a little bit to score but we were able to regroup and get back into it.”
Rowe sophomore Louie Yebra missed some time in the first quarter while attending to a bloody nose that resulted from a scramble for a loose ball. He finished the night with 10 points, including a few difficult drives through the lane.
“That’s all we talk about in practice. It doesn’t matter whether they’re making their run or we’re making our run, we just have to stay positive through everything. We just (need to) make sure we’re playing our game: boxing out, getting rebounds, playing defense and our offense will come through no matter what.”
McHi will travel to Mission to face the Mission Eagles next outing while Rowe will host La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, both on Jan. 2.