By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Since losing its bigs a year ago, McAllen Rowe has relied on outside shooting to combat any height discrepancies.
The Warriors rode that tactic to a playoff berth last season, and all the way to the championship game of the City of Palms tournament this season. But with their shots not falling through with regularity on Saturday, the Warriors saw their opportunities slip away during a 53-46 loss to Laredo United.
Rowe struggled to contain center Carlos Duarte, who scored 16 points on his way to collecting tournament MVP honors. As Rowe’s Alex Keith drained a pair of free throws to cut the deficit 48-44, Laredo United threw a series of passes up court before finding Duarte in stride for a one-hand jam that put the game out of reach with a minute to play.
It was part of the Longhorns’ 36-28 effort during the second half, which helped them overcome an 18-17 deficit at intermission in what was largely a closely contested battle.
“The kids did a tremendous job fighting and playing hard,” Rowe coach Jose Luis Yebra said. “Laredo is a great team, but we hung in there and fought until the end. It was just too much to overcome.”
Yebra was encouraged by the Warriors’ effort of late, particularly with the way they’ve been closing out games. He said Rowe had struggled in that regard to start the year, but have since made strides.
On Saturday, he attributed the loss to “a couple of missed shots” and general lack of size as the Warriors fell to 12-8.
“We couldn’t box out enough for rebounds,” Rowe’s Kaleb Garza said. “They’re big, and that’s what hurt us. Turning the ball over, too. We didn’t have as many looks as we would’ve liked. But the ones we did have, we should’ve hit. We didn’t, and it showed.”
Daniel Sotuyo, who had 12 points on three 3-pointers, did his part, along with Keith who had 11 points. Garza added nine points, and Freddy Ayala chipped in with eight.
The tournament offered the Warriors their last few opportunities to gear up for the start of district, which gets underway in January.
Around this time last year, the Warriors were beginning to come together. They deviated from an offense that relied on post players to one that focused on outside shooting. And even though remains the plan this year, it’s taken the Warriors time to come together. They’re short on upperclassmen year, and just barely are beginning to play to their strengths.
“We’re not where we would like to be,” Keith said, “but we’re definitely growing, we’re definitely getting there. There’s no doubt about that.”