NATHANIEL MATA| THE MONITOR
Two perennial powerhouses did some soul-searching when they met on the hardwood on Tuesday night in Edinburg. Edinburg Vela never trailed and topped McAllen Rowe 68-52 in a battle between squads trying to right the ship through subpar starts to the season.
The SaberCats (6-9) played a strong four-quarter game propelled by a hot start, specifically a 23-point first quarter that set the tone on both sides of the ball.
Sophomore sharpshooter Bobby Espericueta scored 10 of his 11 points in the opening frame, including two 3-pointers that brought the crowd to its feet.
Vela played a structured game in the half court, passing up shot opportunities until a higher percentage chance presented itself. Espericueta credited the hot start to his coach and peers.
“Coach just gave us good advice before the game. We ran our plays right, and my teammates got me open,” Espericueta said. “We just swung the ball more for a better shot, and it just fell.”
The sophomore punctuated a 9-0 run that pushed the SaberCats’ lead to 19-8 with 2:12 to play in the first quarter, forcing the Warriors to call timeout.
Vela had just five wins in 16 games coming into Tuesday, but first-year coach David Keith hopes his team has turned a corner as it returns to full health.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Keith said. “It’s something we’ve been seeing slowly progress and get better. It’s easy to get impatient, but getting to know these kids and them getting to know the coaching staff, it takes time.”
SaberCats center Noah Sekinger scored a game-high 23 points. The junior had 10 points in the first half but then took over the third quarter with 12 points.
He converted a 3-point play and then another basket to give Vela a 58-38 lead as the third quarter came to an end.
“Noah helps a lot. He gets rebounds,” Espericueta said. “Even when he gets trapped down low, he gets others involved.”
Trey Chavana had 11 points and Austin Garza added 10 points to help fuel Vela’s offense.
The officials saw plenty of infractions, calling 46 fouls in total. The fouls were evenly divided 23 apiece, but that didn’t stop Keith or Rowe bench boss Jose Luis Yebra from voicing and displaying their frustration.
Yebra used a timeout with 5:28 remaining in the second quarter to get after an official for what he perceived to be a missed call on a would-be illegal screen. Neither coach was assessed a technical foul during the game.
Rowe had issues far beyond the referees. Only one player on the team reached double-digit points, and that was Derek Luna, who had 11 on only two made field goals. Rowe especially struggled from beyond the arc, converting only 2 of 14 first-half attempts.
The coach’s freshman son, Jose Yebra, had a game he’d like to forget. He drained Rowe’s first 3-pointer but was then benched following multiple turnovers.
The Warriors’ pre-district struggles are not as glaring in the record book as those of the SaberCats. Rowe dropped to 9-6 on the season heading toward the City of Palms tournament and a pair of non-district tune-ups.
“I don’t think we’re in a hole,” Yebra said. “We didn’t play very well today. They did. We have to understand that they were ready to play, and we were not. Our kids just didn’t shoot the ball very well. We just were flat, and we’ll fix it. Our kids are resilient, and they’ll work hard.”