By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
SAN JUAN — Though four games may seem like a small sample size, Weslaco High coach Gabe Valdez is already beginning to pick up on some of his team’s tendencies.
In the event that one of their top player struggles offensively, the Panthers have enough depth to make up ground. And when teams get rolling, they put the clamps on their opponent, much like they showed during their 47-38 non-district win over PSJA High on Tuesday.
Weslaco (3-1) is enjoying the type of depth that elluded it the past couple of season, with Jason Morales and Nick Mora contributing 10 points apiece, and Braxton Bloomquist and Justice Free chipping in with 9 and 8 points, respectively.
As a team, they drilled six 3-pointers, with Bloomquist accounting for half.
“That’s what’s good about this team,” Weslaco coach Gabe Valdez said. “We’ve got guys who could go inside, we could go outside. So hopefully that’ll help us down the road.”
Weslaco was relentless all night with its defense, coming away with three steals and two blocked shots, including one from Free in the closing minutes of Tuesday’s game, as the Panthers ended with an 8-2 run.
“Honestly, we have a lot of speed,” Mora said, explaining the team’s fresh legs coming as a result of Valdez’s substitution patterns. “Everyone’s able to pick up and help each other.”
It’s a trend the Panthers are hoping to continue in snapping their playoff drought. Two years ago, when Mora was a sophomore, the team mustered only three district wins. Last season, they posted six district wins, finishing fifth in a four-team playoff race.
“So far, we’re doing a lot better,” Mora said. “We have a lot of guys coming back and it’s helping a lot.”
The game never seemed in doubt Tuesday, though Jordan Garcia did his part to make things interesting. He scored a game-high 17 points, hauling down boards and taking it the length of the court for layups.
Hector Menendez scored on a pull-up jumper and then scooped in a layup, before Garcia drilled another bucket, bringing PSJA within 35-33. That’s as close as the Bears came before Mora’s outlet pass to Free helped create separation, and then Tyler Martinez stopped Mora for a jumper.
The loss dropped PSJA to 2-4, drawing attention to the Bears’ missed opportunities, namely free throws.
PSJA missed 10 in a game it lost by 9 points.
“We gave it everything we had and we left it on the line,” Bears coach Walter Gomez said.
Gomez is in his first year with the program, replacing coach Bill Ramey. They’re also looking to make up the scoring load left by Luis Mancillas Jr., the Valley’s leading scorer last season, who graduated.
So far, he’s looking for his team to be more patient on offense. On Tuesday, they seemed to rely heavily on Garcia in a game where both teams struggled to run their offenses fluidly.
“By the end of the year, we’re going to be a team that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Gomez said. “We’re getting there.”