By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Lopez rode a first-quarter surge and a high-scoring performance by Darren Gonzalez to a 70-44 victory against the Raymondville Bearkats on Friday at Lopez.
The Lobos’ defense used a backcourt press and long-range shooting from Gonzalez, who made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points during the quarter, to jump to a 13-0 lead in the first. They ended the quarter with the lead, 25-7.
Lopez coach Neil Schuster thought his team’s play during the furious first-quarter charge set the tone for the rest of the game.
“We came out with the press early, and the kids showed a lot of tenacity,” Schuster said. “We eased up on the gas pedal in the second quarter because we were putting the ball through the hoop with some ease. We need to get more consistent on the offensive and defensive ends together, but for the most part I thought the kids played pretty hard, especially in that first quarter.”
Gonzalez finished with 34 points, four assists, four steals and three rebounds to lead the Lobos.
Getting Gonzalez in one-on-one situations against Raymondville was the key for the senior guard’s play.
“I thought we did a good job of playing the mismatches today,” Schuster said. “We utilized that and it put (Gonzalez) into great positions. We were real consistent with that.”
Julio Jimenez scored 11 points for Lopez and had three steals. Lopez’s defense finished the game with 18 steals.
Sergio Gonzales led Raymondville with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.
Raymondville’s best offensive quarter came in the second, when the Bearkats scored 16 points but still trailed 43-23 going into halftime.
Lopez’s defense started pressing again after the halftime break, and the offense powered its way to another 25-point quarter to extend the lead to 68-31.
Raymondville played on its second game of the season when it took the court against Lopez.
“This is only our second game so we look to improve (each week),” Raymondville coach John Tamez said. “Our goal was 45 points, and we didn’t really know what Lopez had. We were pleased with what we saw. We had to play everybody to evaluate them. They play like Hidalgo, and Hidalgo’s in our district (District 32-4A) so it was really beneficial for our guys.”
Joshua McKinney writes for the Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.