BROWNSVILLE — There is a reason why Brownsville St. Joseph senior Gerry Martinez is regarded as one of the best — if not the best — basketball players in the Rio Grande Valley.
He can go off any night, regardless of who is in front of him.
The talented senior dropped 28 points, including the game-winning free throws to lift the Bloodhounds to a 60-58 victory over the Laredo St. Augustine Knights on Tuesday night.
“The kids fought hard for four quarters,” St. Joseph head coach Sam Lucio said. “We have been preaching that every game in district is like a heavyweight fight for 12 rounds. I felt like we fought for 12 rounds today.”
Both teams came in unbeaten at 5-0, and they also had battles in 2022. St. Joseph won both contests in 2022 by a combined score of nine points, including a 66-65 win in Laredo that was sealed at the line by Martinez.
With 12 seconds left and the game tied at 58, the Knights fouled Martinez at halfcourt, sending the guard to the line. Martinez did not know why the Knights elected to foul him in the closing seconds but was glad he sank the winning shots, he said.
Martinez only missed one free throw on the night, one that would have put the Bloodhounds up by three points. The miss was gathered by the Knights, and they immediately pushed the ball up to tie the game at 58.
“It was a crucial miss,” Martinez said. “Thankfully I made up for it at the end … thank god.”
St. Augustine led for long stretches of the third and fourth quarters. The Knights had plenty of size on them as well, easily towering over the Bloodhounds with multiple players on the court over 6 feet.
“We knew their size was going to be difficult for us,” Lucio said. “We do not have much size, but we fight. That is what we have been preaching all season, just fight. No matter what size we are, going against bigger teams, just keep fighting.”
St. Joseph kept pace and received a good scoring night from seniors Ethan Gallegos and Jimmy Navarro.
Navarro scored 16 points and Gallegos finished with 15. Both players, along with Martinez, neutralized the size of the Knights by driving to the basket, putting the Laredo team in foul trouble and hitting timely outside shots.
“We are barely hitting our peak right now,” Martinez said. “We would rather hit it in district than the preseason. It is looking really good right now.”
St. Joseph (18-4, 6-0) returns to play at 6:30 p.m. Friday when they face the Victoria St. Joseph Flyers (7-12, 0-4) in Victoria.