MARK MOLINA | STAFF WRITER
For the fifth year in a row, the Los Fresnos Falcons have conquered the bi-district round of the postseason.
Now, they have their sights set on conquering the area round of the playoffs, something the Falcons have not been able to do, falling at this point in each of the last four seasons.
Breaking through to the third round once again will prove tough as they face the Laredo Nixon Mustangs, who come in on a seven-game winning streak, including Tuesday’s 83-59 bi-district win over McAllen High.
Though it seems like a daunting task, Los Fresnos head coach Marco Hinojosa said he and his team will simply view this as another goal they have on their preseason list.
“We have goals, when we first started the season,” he said. “One of those was to win a district title and another to win a bi-district championship. Another is to get past that second round hump. It won’t be an easy task with Nixon. Coach Pete Solis Jr. does an amazing job having their kids ready. They press for 32 minutes, they shoot the three and pass the ball very well; it’s very aggressive. We know what we’re going up against. The kids are ready and we’re up for the challenge, because that’s what it is.”
Nixon, who is ranked No. 25 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, defeated Los Fresnos 75-35 back on Dec. 29.
Los Fresnos and Nixon will face off at Alice High School at 8 p.m. Friday night.
Class 5A
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers are into the second round for the second time in three seasons after defeating the Mission Veterans Memorial Patriots 59-45 in Mission on Tuesday night’s bi-district matchup.
Brownsville Veterans head coach Larry Gibson said his team was feeling good after picking up a road win.
“I think the boys came out of that win feeling confident,” the Chargers coach said. “They had to win a game on the road against a team that plays well at home and has a really good player that tried to beat us and our kids came out victorious. I think the kids feel pretty good about themselves.”
The Chargers had three players in double digits, but none was more surprising than senior Bobby Fisher, who came off the bench for a double-double, recording 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Justin Anaya also had 16 points, followed by Kelly Davis with 12.
“Justin Anaya has led us in scoring all year, but (Fisher) came off the bench the other night and had an excellent game,” Gibson said. “He had a double-double and that was a big surprise when we needed a kid to step up. Usually when you get a kid off that bench and plays like that, it’s a big thing. Kelly Davis has averaged 10 points and about four or five rebounds this season and has been the glue that holds us together. He’s probably one of our better defenders. I call him my glue stick, because he holds us together.”
Up next for the Chargers (31-6) is a date with the Flour Bluff Hornets (21-8) at H.M. King High School in Kingsville at 8 p.m.
Flour Bluff defeated King 66-50 in Tuesday night’s bi-district round for its fourth straight win.
For the Chargers, having to keep up with the Hornets’ athleticism will be his team’s biggest obstacle come Friday night.
“I feel (Flour Bluff) is a very quick team and very athletic,” Gibson said. “I think we need to try and control the tempo because they love to get up and down the floor. I think we have to get the tempo at our pace and make them play our game, instead of their game.”
Class 3A
The Santa Rosa Warriors are no stranger to the postseason and postseason success.
Tuesday night’s 72-60 win over Falfurrias was the Warriors 16th bi-district victory in the last 17 seasons.
In that span, the Warriors have made the regional quarterfinals 13 times, the regional tournament nine times and the state tournament three times.
Santa Rosa will aim for their 14th regional quarterfinals appearance under head coach Johnny Cipriano when they face Jourdanton in Friday night’s area round scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Corpus Christi Ray High School.
Class 2A
District 32-2A can hold its head up high as the San Perlita Trojans, San Isidro Tigers and the Santa Maria Cougars all advanced to the area round.
The Trojans defeated Benavides 100-37 on Monday night, San Isidro defeated Agua Dulce 52-41 and Santa Maria narrowly defeated Freer 61-58.
All three will be in action this week.
San Perlita will face Yorktown at 6:00 p.m. in Alice and Santa Maria will face Port Aransas at 6:30 p.m. in Bishop. Both matchups will be Friday.
San Isidro will be take on Weimar at Sinton High School in Sinton at 7 p.m. on Thursday night.