By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
In their first chance of the season, the Porter Cowboys notched District 32-5A win No. 1.
The Cowboys held the PSJA Southwest Javelinas to just six fourth-quarter points on their way to a 50-43 win Friday at Porter.
Porter’s offense looked shaky at times, but the Cowboys found a way to score points when they needed them during critical points near the end of the first half and the game.
“I was really happy with the fact that we moved the ball around, which we’ve been really emphasizing,” Porter coach Luis Garza said. “We’ve just got to get that fourth beat. We’ve got the passing down, we’ve got the ball movement, but we’ve got to work on our penetrating and shooting still.”
Porter found itself behind the eight ball early, making just one basket and allowing nine consecutive points during the opening five minutes.
Following a rocky start, though, the Cowboys scored a quick six points to close the first.
Once they found a rhythm, Porter made hay during the second quarter. They scored 19 points on 6 of 10 shooting, including 5 for 5 from the free-throw line. Joel Gracia netted 10 of his 13 total points during the period, helping his team to 27-23 halftime lead.
Despite an impressive second quarter, the Cowboys came out flat to start the third, attempting three shots and missing each of them during the initial four minutes. Porter’s first successful basket of the second half didn’t fall until the 3:47 mark after Garza called a timeout.
The Cowboys erased a 31-27 deficit and regained the lead heading into the final quarter. The Javelinas went cold and missed four consecutive shots before Aaron Rodriguez scored on back-to-back possessions to give PSJA Southwest a chance with just less than four minutes remaining.
However, a three-point play by Gracia and a layup by Jesus Garcia iced the game for Porter.
“We’ve got to believe in ourselves,” PSJA Southwest coach Roy Garcia said. “We had them, but we made some mistakes under pressure. We’ve got to be able to handle that pressure.”
Rodriguez led all scorers with 23 points, more than half his team’s total. The Cowboys had three players in double figures. Eli Martinez led Porter with 15 points, and Gracia added 13 to go with Garcia’s 13.
“I’m glad that we were able to pull it off,” Garza said. “It’s a district win so we’ll take it, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Each team will resume play at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Porter will head to Pace, and PSJA Southwest will play host to Donna North.
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.