NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
MERCEDES — The Mercedes Tigers started slow before reverting to business as usual, as Jordan Ovalle drained late 3s to ice a 58-50 win over Donna High on Tuesday night.
Ovalle said the key for his team to thaw out and eventually heat up from the field was communication on the court.
“It felt good. My shot felt good. I just shot it, and it went in,” Ovalle said. “Everyone has a threat on everything. Caleb (Arthur) has a threat of driving in. Jay (Ayala is) a big body, so he’ll take anybody down paint. Jared (Castaneda) is 50-50, and I’m a shooter.”
That starting group for Mercedes (8-14, 3-3) sputtered early, shooting 4 of 11 in the first quarter and falling into a 15-9 hole at the end of the period.
The Tigers defense didn’t get much help with whistles, having to turn to its bench after running into early foul trouble.
Donna (8-14, 3-3) center Anthony Moreno imposed his will on the low block, making four shots in the quarter to put his team in front. Donna held the lead throughout the first half.
Moreno had 12 first-half points but only managed to score four more on one field goal in the second half.
Donna coach Manuel Epperson said the change in production was a two-sided issue, not simply due to Mercedes shutting down Donna’s big man.
“Yes and no,” Epperson said. “Yes, they did take him away. They did a good job taking away, but at the same time, we didn’t look at him, and we need to look at him. It started in that third quarter. That third quarter hurt us. We had too many turnovers, like unguarded turnovers.”
Mercedes responded to the six-point deficit with an 8-2 run that turned out to be a glimpse of the rest of the game.
The Tigers forced the aforementioned turnovers and made the visitors pay with improved shooting. Mercedes made nine field goals in the third quarter, which matched its total for the first half.
Caleb Arthur got in on the offense, adding four points in the third quarter and six in the half. The junior said that playing within the offense was a key.
“We became very successful when we were doing what we were coached to do. I think in the first half, we were getting out of what we were coached to do and weren’t executing very well,” Arthur said. “What’s special about (our offense) is everyone has their looks, but they’re also in the position to dish out the assist to the open guy.”
The players who benefited most from the unselfish play were the duo of Castaneda and Ovalle, who combined for 35 points.
“In the beginning, we weren’t all talking,” Ovalle said. “When we got our shots down, it was because we were all talking, moving the ball, getting good looks and hitting the shots.”
Donna did not go quietly. Eric Garza came alive late, scoring eight of his 15 points in the fourth quarter with timely 3-pointers to keep his team in striking range.
But Mercedes’ Ovalle hit back-to-back 3s to make the score 48-43, helping the Tigers start to pull away.
Castaneda had 13 second-half points, including 5 of 6 from the charity stripe to lock up the district victory and send the bundled-up fans into the chilly night content.
“We have all five guys that constantly score in high digits,” Mercedes coach Rick Trevino said. “The starting five, anybody can score double digits on any days. Whoever has the hot hand, or whoever’s feeling it, or whoever has the mismatch.”
While Trevino says he can count on anyone for buckets, Ovalle’s late surge was critical.
“Jordan’s a very good weapon that we have on our team. When we need to have big shots, he nails them,” Arthur said of his point guard. “Just came up big for us tonight.”