HARLINGEN — While the young Santa Rosa Warriors made things interesting, the Harlingen South Hawks’ fire power and height made the difference allowing them to pull away for a 72-48 victory to open pool play at the Dr. Keillor Basketball Classic Friday morning at Harlingen High School.
Santa Rosa closed the gap a few times in the first half, but three-point shooting and good ball movement by the Hawks killed the Warriors’ chances on multiple occasions.
The Hawks made 10 three-point shots on the day and defended aggressively throughout making head coach Brian Molina pleased with the well-rounded play.
That was especially true in areas he felt his team has struggled with early.
“I was proud of the kids because I told them they needed to work on their offensive out put better than our last game,” Molina said. “Santa Rosa is a really good team and has some players who can really play, so I was proud of our kids’ effort on the defensive end.”
The Warriors turned the ball over 22 times, which was critical at the end of quarters.
Santa Rosa’s defense helped the Warriors weather an early storm in the first quarter and tie the game at 10-10 after finding themselves down 9-2, but cold shooting and missed shots made runs short-lived as the taller Hawks crashed the boards and grabbed Warriors misses.
“I think we were hesitant and a little intimidated. I didn’t expect us to be that intimidated. Then (South) got hot and I think we let down,” Santa Rosa head coach Johnny Cipriano said. “I think we’ll struggle with size all the time, but most of the time I think we stood around watching because we were intimidated. If we play and put a body on someone, those rebounds won’t happen.”
Still, the game is a measuring stick for the Warriors early on this season and Cipriano was able to take some positives from the loss.
“I did like the fight in some of the guys out there. Abie (Lozoya) missed some shots, but I said I would take those as long as he’s being aggressive,” he said. “I think the kids need to learn to trust and look for each other. Everybody can shoot; we just have to play team basketball.”
The Hawks closed out quarters on big runs which doomed Santa Rosa.
In the second, the Warriors came within three, only to see the Hawks go into the half on a 14-1 run.
The Hawks were led by Luke Bradford’s 18 points and Dillen Hendrick’s 16 points, which included four three-point baskets.
Gabe Britten had 12 of his own for the Hawks.
Santa Rosa’s Leo Lara had another big game with 17 points and Manny Sanchez gave the Warriors 10 points.
All 10 came in the final eight minutes.
Santa Rosa left the first day winless after falling to Miller in an 89-81 shootout later in the day, while South beat finished the day with a 68-32 win over Edinburg Economedes.
Both finish up pool play early today as the Warriors take on Economedes at 9:30 a.m. and South faces Miller at 10:30 a.m.
HARLINGEN’S DAY IN POOL 1: The hosting Harlingen Cardinals left Day 1 smiling as the only undefeated team in Pool 1 after taking down Weslaco East 51-48 to open the tournament then dismissing Brownsville Pace 61-51 later in the day.
With a lot of last year’s playoff team graduated, the tournament gives Harlingen coach Greg Yates a chance to get his players acclimated with the varsity speed.
“I hope to get a lot of playing time against these other teams. We’re really young and don’t have much varsity experience. We have two starters back from last year,” Yates said. “Our roster is filled with three sophomores, a lot of juniors and a few seniors. That’s what these tournaments are about, so we can get as many games in, see what your rotation is and see who can come off the bench and produce. We’re looking for those sparks.”
Yates and the Cardinals will finish up pool play today when they face St. Joseph.
“We’re trying to work on consistency,” Yates said. “St Joe’s is a quality team, so we have to be ready for them; they seem like they can put up a lot of points.”
Dr. Keillor Classic bracket
BOYS
(All Games at Harlingen High School expect title game, which is at Harlingen South)
Friday’s games
Pool 1
Game 1: Harlingen 51, Weslaco East 48
Game 2: Brownsville St. Joseph 64, Brownsville Pace 45
Game 3: Harlingen 61, Pace 51
Game 4: Weslaco East 50, St. Joseph 37
Pool 2
Game 1: Harlingen South 72, Santa Rosa 48
Game 2: CC Miller 55, Edinburg Economedes 47
Game 3: CC Miller 89, Santa Rosa 81
Game 4: Harlingen South vs. Economedes, 5:30 p.m., main gym
Saturday’s games
Pool 1
Game 5: Harlingen vs. St. Jospeh, 9 a.m., main gym
Game 6: Pace vs. Weslaco East, 11 a.m., mini-gym
Pool 2
Game 5: Santa Rosa vs. Economedes, 9:30 a.m., mini-gym
Game 6: CC Miller vs. Harlingen South, 10:30 a.m., main gym
Seventh place
Fourth place Pool 1 vs. Fourth place Pool 2, 1:30 p.m., mini-gym
Fifth place
Third place Pool 1 vs. Third place Pool 2, 1:30 p.m., main gym
Third place
Second place Pool 1 vs. Second place Pool 2, 3 p.m., main gym
Championship
First place Pool 1 vs. First place Pool 2, 6 p.m. at Harlingen South