By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
The paint was the place to be for the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers during the second quarter.
The Chargers used the 23 points tallied during the period to capture a 60-51 victory over the Edcouch-Elsa Yellowjackets on Friday night in Brownsville.
The Chargers converted five of their first 10 shots during the second quarter to take a 21-16 lead with just more than four minutes remaining.
Edcouch-Elsa had a difficult time maintaining possession nearing the end of the quarter and Aaron Villarreal took advantage, scoring seven points on 3 of 4 shooting, including a three-point play.
Brownsville Veterans Memorial thrived beneath the basket, scoring nearly all of its points either near the rim or from the free throw line, but halftime adjustments by Edcouch-Elsa coach Rick Trevino had an impact.
“They made adjustments at halftime, and it really took away some of the things we did the first half inside,” Brownsville Veterans coach Larry Gibson said, “and we weren’t hitting shots from the outside. That’s what hurt us.”
The change in game plan kept the Chargers from accessing the lane at the frequency they did during the first half, and the Yellowjackets shot their way into contention.
“We were not crowding the paint very well in transition,” Trevino said. “We did a better job of that (after halftime).
“I thought we were losing a lot of the 50-50 balls, and I thought we did a better job of getting those balls in the third quarter. That’s why we were able to come back. The kids fought hard, we just didn’t have enough there at the end.”
The ’Jackets inched to within five points of the lead near the end of the third quarter, but the Chargers pulled ahead to maintain an 11-point edge, fending off the first of two Edcouch-Elsa rallies.
Throughout the fourth quarter, Edcouch-Elsa continued its attempt to mount a comeback but never got closer than five points. The Chargers’ Jeremiah Meyers scored four points down the stretch to seal the game.
“We played kind of sloppy,” Wilsonsaid. “We’ve been shooting the ball a lot better, but we didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight. But we played hard, that’s what I was proud of.
“We’ve been out of school for the whole week, and I think the kids were a little lethargic. But I think the effort was there because we played good defense.
The Yellowjackets’ team is young. Five sophomores and one freshman contributed against the Chargers, and Trevino knows the non-district schedule is the place to teach.
“We know we’re playing tough teams,” he said. “We think (Brownsville Veterans) is a playoff team, so we scheduled ourselves very hard. We’re hoping to stay positive. These guys just get better every game, so I think we’re on our way.”
Meyers led all scorers with 15 points on 6 of 14 shooting from the floor and 4 of 10 shooting from the free-throw line. Villarreal was the second-highest scorer for the Chargers with seven. Mark Morones and Aurelio Gonzalez tied for the Yellowjackets’ lead with 11 points apiece, and Trey Chavana chipped in nine.
Brownsville Veterans next plays host to Edinburg Vela, and Edcouch-Elsa faces McAllen High at home. Both games will take place at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2.
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.