NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
CORPUS CHRISTI — A strong season, complete with an undefeated district championship, came to a disappointing thud Tuesday night as the McAllen Rowe Warriors were bounced from the playoffs by Laredo United South.
The Panthers weathered an early deficit and knocked off the Warriors 59-49 at Corpus Christi Carroll High School.
Veteran Rowe bench boss Luis Yebra pointed to a plethora of factors that combined to create the loss.
“They (United South) started with a zone and then it started off with Darrin (Everage) in foul trouble and not having him out there to move the ball around. We were standing around against the zone and we didn’t do a good job of getting open to shoot the ball or to penetrate. We were timid the whole game, I don’t know; nerves or whatever it was. We weren’t able to play the way we usually play.”
Rowe took a 6-2 lead but after that point, the storyline flipped. United South limited the dual threat of Everage and sophomore Louie Yebra for most of the night.
Panthers center and rim protector Miguel Martinez was a force all night. He didn’t shut down his counterpart John Galan, who had 20 points, but Martinez had several blocks on drive attempts by Rowe guards.
Martinez led all scorers with 22 points.
“Quite honestly these boys have been preparing for these type of moments and these games throughout the season,” United South coach Carmelo Gonzalez said. “Basketball in Laredo is top notch, even in the 5A ranks. Our district prepares us well for these games. Every game in district is a battle so when we get to these moments we’re prepared to play our best.”
Outside of Galan, the Warriors didn’t have a go-to scorer. Yebra and senior Mark Medrano both had six points, along with freshman Alejandro Garcia who made two deep 3-pointers in the final minute when the game was decided.
Along with poor shooting, the Warriors looked out of sync all over the court. Turnovers fueled United South’s momentum and soon the Panthers crowd was a vocal factor. Missed defensive assignments by Rowe players allowed easy buckets.
Coach Yebra addressed his team’s first-round struggles. The Warriors have failed to advance past the bi-district game the past three seasons.
“I think it’s strong Laredo basketball and maybe our district is not as strong,” Yebra said. “And I don’t want to say anything bad about our district and our teams. We just need to find a way to play a little bit better and pull these games out.”
United South was aided by strong shooting all night, while the Warriors struggled especially from beyond the arc.
Rowe had an anemic 13 points at the halftime break and didn’t convert on a 3-point field goal until Medrano hit a three in the fourth during their final surge.
Coming into the fourth quarter, the Warriors seemed down and out trailing by 22 points with only 22 points scored. That’s when Rowe played its best stretch of the game, forcing turnovers and capitalizing.
“I was trying to get them to relax and just play and we weren’t able to do it early in the game,” Yebra said.
The Warriors cut the advantage to 47-38, but with only 1:46 to play the comeback needed missed free-throws and the Panthers were clinical at the line.
“Hats off to United South,” Yebra said. “They played very good defense and it really frustrated us and we didn’t get the job done.”