By TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
McALLEN — The McAllen Rowe Warriors raced out to a huge halftime lead and did enough in the second half to turn back the Weslaco Panthers on Friday night and claim a 65-55 area round playoff victory.
Senior guard Daniel Sotuyo led the Warriors with 28 points on an array of long jumpers and acrobatic drives, but it was Rowe’s defense that made the difference. The Warriors went on two long first-half runs that would have put the game out of reach if not for a very strong third quarter from the Panthers. Rowe advances to play Laredo Alexander next week in the third round with the winner of that game moving on the regional tournament.
Out of the gate, the Warriors dominated, frustrating Weslaco big man Justice Free and forcing the Panthers into a variety of mistakes and turnovers. Rowe turned the blunders into points, and before the Warriors could finish their pounding fight song they were up by 20 in the second quarter. Admittedly, Rowe was playing with a big chip on it’s shoulder, coach Jose Luis Yebra said.
“We wanted to prove a point that we were better than they were,” he said. “Our kids worked on it from the beginning of the first day of practice when we knew we were going to play them. And we noticed that nobody gave our kids any attention, and we were fine with that. We just wanted to prove that we were better than the Panthers tonight.”
Fair enough, and on Friday it was true enough, too.
Rowe clamped down on Wesalco in the first quarter. The Warriors went on a 12-2 run and finished the opening stanza up 17-6. Weslaco made just two field goals in the first, committed too many fouls and turned the ball over three times. But if that wasn’t enough, the second quarter got worse for the visiting Panthers. They went just 3 of 9 from the floor with four turnovers.
Meanwhile, Rowe continued its torrid pace and opened the period with an 11-3 run that eventually gave the Warriors a 22-point halftime lead at 39-17. Sotuyo spearheaded the Rowe effort with 10 points in the second and hustle on the defensive end.
“Our defense was what was going to lead to offense,” Sotuyo said. “Coach told us if we come out and play hard defense, the offense will come to us, and that’s what it did. I feel like we were really executing.”
But the execution stopped in the third quarter, and the lack of production allowed the Panthers to go on an 11-2 run to get within nine by the end of the period. The situation worked perfectly for the Panthers. With Sotuyo and starting point guard Adrian Bernal on the bench with foul trouble, the Warriors turned the ball over on nine of 13 possessions in the middle of the third, allowing the Panthers back into the game.
Free and Nick Mora, who finished with 11 and 16 points respectively, led the charge on the 22-point period. Rowe was able to stay above water with the hustle and defense from post Freddy Ayala (14 points). Despite the momentum, the Panthers could get no closer. After more turnovers on which Weslaco could not capitalize, Yebra re-inserted his starting guards halfway into the fourth, and they assumed control of the contest until the end.
“We talked to the kids at half and said in order for us to cut it (the lead) by 10 by the fourth quarter, and the boys did a great job doing that,” Weslaco coach Gabe Valdez said. “It was just unfortunate that in the first half we shot ourselves in the foot. It was hard to come back, but I know my boys gave a valiant effort.”