LA FERIA — Corpus Christi Miller made it to the C.E. Vail championship game with a buzzer-beating layup by Jayden Moreno in a semifinal against Edinburg North.
The Buccaneers met another team from Edinburg in the championship game, the Edinburg High Bobcats. Miller did not need to beat the buzzer as they defeated Edinburg High 87-59 on Saturday at La Feria High School to capture the tournament championship.
“Today they came out and played hard,” C.C. Miller assistant coach Mark Salazar said. “We were really aggressive on defense, which led to our transition offense, which built us the lead.”
Edinburg High’s Ryan Rivera hit a 3-pointer from the corner that cut the score to 65-53 early in the fourth quarter, but that is as close as the score got. The Buccaneers finished on a 22-6 run to see out the game.
Besides points from turnovers, 3-point shooting and offensive rebounds played a factor in the difference for the visiting Buccaneers. C.C. Miller was not shy to shoot from beyond the arc, hitting 11 3-pointers.
If they did not hit, they were there for second-chance opportunities or the Buccaneers would be fouled by the Bobcats, sending them to the line.
“That (rebounding) was huge,” Salazar said. “That was our big thing when we played Edinburg North, they had a big kid, and that is what we worked on, rebounding and boxing out. We continued that this game, and it helped us.”
Moreno led the Buccaneers in scoring with 25 points. Damare Lister put up 17 points and Jayden Brown dropped 16 points for Miller.
Edinburg High’s Ivan Garcia led the Bobcats in scoring with 15 points. Joaquin Soto finished with 13 points, and Jahi Fagan chipped in with 12 points.
“We just ran into a wall,” Edinburg High head coach Esequiel Cuellar said. “These kids were a little more energized and a little more athletic than we were. It almost seems like everyone we play has size on us, and we did not do a good job of rebounding.”
The Bobcats were limited on second-chance opportunities and did not stop the Buccaneers from having theirs, Cuellar said.
“That kind of put us in a hole early in the game,” Cuellar said.
Miller pulled away from Edinburg High early, going up 19-4, before an eight-point run by the Bobcats cut the lead to 19-12 at the end of the first quarter.
After that it was all Miller. It went into the half up 49-30.
“I thought our kids played a gutsy tournament,” Cuellar said. “They played with some intensity. It just did not work in the last game. Apart from that, I thought it was a great tournament. The kids had fun and played well together. That is all we want from them right now at this point of the season.”