By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Los Fresnos extend its lead over the rest District 32-6A with a lopsided win over the district’s other heavyweight.
Using long-range shooting and ball-hawking defense, Los Fresnos beat the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers 75-41 at Los Fresnos.
The Falcons had a playoff berth clinched heading into the game, and Friday’s win puts them one win away from sealing at least a share of the district title this season.
“The kids were ready,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “They knew what was at stake. We haven’t clinched it yet, but we have one more to go. Our kids knew what was at stake, and they were ready to play. They were focused and they wanted it.”
Four Falcons finished in the double digits for points. Andrew Carrizales scored a game-high 21 points to go with five steals. Hugo De La Cruz and Albert Alarcon scored 15 points each, and Jordan Urbina finished with 14 points and five steals.
The fact that four players ended the night with at least 10 points shows Los Fresnos has the depth to continue its march to the district title and maybe make a run in the playoffs.
“When we come out and play, I think we can run with the best of them,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “I think we have a pretty good team. This team is special. I love these guys. When they show up to play the way they did tonight, unselfishly and defend the way they defended, I think we can run with anybody.”
Shots rained in from the three-point arc all night for Los Fresnos (24-7, 10-1), which made 14 3-pointers in the game. Alarcon made five of the Falcons’ 3s.
Los Fresnos’ swift-handed defense grabbed 13 steals in the game.
“We’re always talking about defense, and that’s what we did,” De La Cruz. “We played defense, and we always say offense comes (later).”
Erick Saldana led Brownsville Veterans (26-5, 8-3) with 14 points. Darian Thuku and Alex Marquez each had six points and six rebounds.
It was a disappointing night for Brownsville Veterans, which looked to rebound after a 63-61 loss to Harlingen High on Tuesday.
“They’re better than us,” Brownsville Veterans coach Larry Gibson said. “We played scared. They outplayed us. They’re better than us. We were scared. They’re the best team. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Los Fresnos led after the first minute of the game with a free throw from Johnny Gomez and a 3 from Urbina.
Brownsville Veterans scored back-to-back buckets to tie it at 4, but Los Fresnos went ahead on a steal and layup by Urbina to go ahead 6-4 and never trailed again. Urbina’s bucket was the start of an 11-2 run to carry a nine-point lead into the second.
The Chargers cut Los Fresnos’ lead to 15-10 during the second quarter, but scores from Carrizales and Urbina were the beginning of a 10-2 streak to take a 25-12 lead. The Falcons led 33-18 at halftime.
Los Fresnos played its best during the third quarter, scoring 27 points and forcing eight turnovers to create a comfortable 60-32 lead by the end of the frame.
The Falcons hit five 3s in the third, with Alarcon contributing three on his own.
The shots continued to fall Los Fresnos’ way early in the fourth, and Hinojosa pulled his starters out with about four minutes to go in the game.
“I think this was the best basketball we’ve played all year,” De La Cruz said. “We finally got everything together and played all (four) quarters like we wanted to, and we put it to them.”
Joshua McKinney covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @joshuabvherald.