By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Playing for the second time in four days, McAllen High coach Ryan Flores decided to give Mercedes a different look.
The two played on Saturday during the C.E. Vail Tournament in La Feria, in which the Bulldogs played man-to-man defense. On Tuesday, they applied a full-court press. They hounded the Tigers, holding them to only 12 points in more than two quarters of action, and it allowed McHi to cruise to a 49-36 victory.
“We kind of caught them by surprise,” Flores said. “We changed it up on them, knowing we were going to play them again. We didn’t want to show them too much, too early.”
Michael Garcia carried the load early, scoring 14 first-half points, including 12 in the opening period. He muscled his way inside, including a pump fake and drive to the basket, drawing the foul and completing the three-point play.
He also stepped into a passing lane and came away with a steal. Later, he swatted a shot, as the Bulldogs held a 39-17 lead, their largest advantage of the game. As a team, they picked off six steals, with Michael Ramirez snatching three, and they blocked six shots.
“Doing stuff like that, it helps us get easy buckets on the other side,” Garcia said. “Our pressing, I think that helped us a lot. They couldn’t break it easy and it helped us get buckets.
“We just need to make sure to keep our team defense like that because it helps us have a strong core.”
In the second quarter, Mercedes attempted only six attempts, scoring three points. And it had committed 10 turnovers by intermission.
Overall, they were called for traveling four times and missed a handful of opportunities near the basket.
“I don’t know what it was,” Mercedes coach Eric Steinbrunner said. “We didn’t play our best game, but I give Coach Flores a lot of credit. They play hard and they play strong defense.”
McHi (15-5) needed all the cushion, considering they felt the effects of playing its sixth game in as many days. They played Sharyland High for the tournament title on Saturday, and came away with a runner-up finish.
By the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs were spent. They scored nine points, one more than they did during the third quarter, as Mercedes (10-3) outscored McHi 19-17.
Part of that was the Tigers’ ability to protect the ball and attempt more shots from the field. The other element was the continuity Mercedes was able to establish.
For the past 5 1/2 games, the Tigers have been without starting point guard Roel Garcia, who is nursing a high ankle sprain. He’s expected back by the time district gets under way in the first week of January.
Mercedes’ Matt Garcia try to make up for his absence, coming out of aggressive in the opening period. He went up for a driving scoop as the Tigers led 7-4. The next time down, Michael Vallejo fed him underneath the basket. Later in the third quarter, he drilled a 3-pointer and a step-back jumper.
He finished with 16 points, including 12 after halftime.
“We were just out of sync (in the opening). I thought we missed a lot of easy shots early, but I’m proud of my guys the way they fought,” Steinbrunner said. “Could have laid down and quit but they fought until the end.”