By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The start to the game between the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers and the McAllen Rowe Warriors was delayed by 40 minutes Tuesday, but the squads made the wait worth it for all in attendance.
Despite having just six players suited up, McAllen Rowe went into Chargers territory and came out with a 50-44 victory. It was a fast and physical contest, but the length of the Warriors and some inconsistent shooting was Brownsville Veterans’ undoing.
“I thought my boys played hard, but my boys just couldn’t make the big shots. We had shots, crucial shots, we couldn’t make. That’s what’s hurting us,” Chargers coach Larry Gibson said. “I feel like (McAllen Rowe is) one of the better teams in the Valley, though they were missing some players. We weren’t doing a great job of blocking out, and they were just getting too many easy shots.”
The first quarter was a low-scoring affair, and Rowe held a 7-6 advantage at its close. Brownsville Veterans threw up a plethora of shots from behind the arc but only two were made, both by Matt Maddox.
Rowe’s trio of Emiliano Gudino, Elijah Alcantar and Patrick Tarbutton locked down the paint on both ends of the court. The Warriors kept the Chargers from feeding the bigs down low and controlled the boards throughout the game.
“(Our size) benefits us a lot because of the fact that Veterans didn’t have someone inside to (rebound), and our kids took advantage of the inside,” Warriors coach Jose Luis Yebra said. “We shot the ball from the outside and it wasn’t good, but we needed to do a better job inside and we stressed it for the second half, and they did the job.”
After Maddox’s consecutive 3-pointers, the Chargers didn’t score for more than five minutes of game clock. Gerry Castañeda and Caleb Sanchez ended the drought to put Brownsville Veterans on top, 11-7.
Tarbutton was the catalyst for Rowe’s bounceback to retake the lead, 16-15, at halftime. Darren Manriquez drove hard to the bucket on several possessions, but his shots didn’t fall until the second half. Manriquez scored 10 of his team-high 15 points after the break.
Rowe turned up its defensive effort during the third quarter, starting with a full-court press that resulted in steals and Chargers turnovers early in the frame. But Brownsville Veterans settled into a rhythm late, led by the nifty ball-handling of Maddox and Castañeda.
Castañeda was relentless in his efforts to challenge Rowe’s posts, and though he struggled to finish on drives, he led the Chargers by scoring six of his 13 points in the third. Brownsville Veterans’ Kenny Davis and Andres Cisneros played well in the frame to keep their team within one point of Rowe.
The Chargers and Warriors both scored nine and 13 points during the second and third quarters. Rowe’s defensive and rebounding efficiency proved to be the difference maker in the tightly contested game. Physical play inside the paint helped the Warriors win the fourth quarter 21-16 and, ultimately, the game.
Julian Avila used his size to help the Warriors control the boards and pressure the Chargers. Tarbutton was the key to Rowe’s success, and a clutch 3-pointer followed by a good feed to Manriquez after one of many rebounds gave the Warriors the cushion they needed to eat clock. Tarbutton scored 14 points and Gudino added 11 to help Rowe pull off the win despite limited resources.
“We’re banged up, but our kids did well by staying focused and staying in the game,” Yebra said. “We struggled, but they’re young. They’re going to mature and they’re going to get better. We told them we were going to substitute and try to keep our legs fresh as much as we could, but … the style of play that we play is running, so they’re well-conditioned and they were able to hang in there and play the whole game. They just battled, and they don’t quit.”
The Chargers hit three 3-pointers during the final quarter as they tried to cut into the lead. But there wasn’t enough production from all five players on the court to stay on pace with the Warriors. Maddox scored 10 of Brownsville Veterans’ 16 points in the frame, and finished with a team- and game-high 20 points.
“(Maddox is) always going to give a great effort, but that’s the thing — other people ain’t stepping up,” Gibson said. “You got to have five people step up against a team like that, and we didn’t. Matt’s been showing up all year, but he’s got to get some help and we’ll put it all together.”